Here Today, But What About Tomorrow
by ferbs55
Summary: Bella and Cedric go to Hogwarts together in ther 7th year. What happens that year between them, and after he dies? Why does a man in New York look like him, two years later? set in bk 4 and after BxE slight X Over
1. Bella

Two years. Two full years that he's been gone. I know it's pathetic, and I know I should stop dwelling in the past, and I should move on, yada yada yada… but I can't. I'm in college for pre-law, an interest we had shared for a career after we got out of that world and into the world of normalcy, at New York University, on the first day of Sophomore year, looking at the tree leaves falling in Central Park on a lone September day and remembering him. This semester is the first semester of an actual school I would have gone to after leaving England almost two years ago. No, I'm not British, I don't sound British and I don't particularly enjoy going to "pubs" and eating "fish and chips." Sure, I may say "bloody hell" and say my R's with a bit of an accent, but that was from going to school in England from the time I was eleven to the time I was seventeen. No, I'm a hundred percent American. Born in a small town in Washington State, grown up in Arizona, loved football, hotdogs, Chinese food and McDonald's chicken McNuggets. Nope, nothing British about me. A familiar, content squeal reached my ears and brought me out of my musings. I looked down into the stroller I was currently pushing to see baby Alex's chubby face smiling back at me. I couldn't help but smile back at him. That little boy was so cute! I continued pushing the stroller down the sidewalk towards a surprisingly nearly empty playground. Seeing Alex's face made me wonder about the infant; would he grow up without a father? Would his mother ever date again and provide a father figure for the boy? How was she going to do this alone? I took Alex out of his stroller and placed him in a nearby sandbox before plopping down on a bench not too far away. The motion caused the necklace I always wore to come closer to my skin and the cold metal of the ring on it to hit on my heart. I had gotten this ring, just a plain, gold ring, two and a half years ago. The thought of it brought back memories of him. Him under our tree. Him under the lake. Him wearing the traditional black robes of our school, laughing with his friends. Him and I, passing notes in class, sharing quick kisses in the hall, holding hands going down a cobbled road, him disobeying the rules and coming to our side of the Hall to sit with me during meals. Him and I during holiday break. Me cheering him on as he competed. And finally, him, gone forever. I closed my eyes briefly in pain and opened them to see Alex's chubby face, looking at me with concern.

"I'm fine, baby," I assured. He went right back to giggling his little baby giggles and pounding his pudgy little fists into the sand. Some days I swore that little boy understood me.

Watching him, I fingered the ring at my neck. I remembered the exact day I got the ring, a simple gold band that was always way too big for my fingers. It was the first day we said "I love you" and to show it he gave me his ring that was always on his right hand. Since it didn't fit, I put it on the chain that had adorned my neck since. I sighed. Our months together didn't last long, but they were great. But now they were gone. HE was gone. Forever. The love of my short, seventeen now nineteen year life was dead. And he was never coming back. I felt tears being to pool in my eyes and blinked them away quickly before looking back to Alex. He was such a happy little boy. I was extremely glad and thankful he never had to see me break down and cry. For his intuitiveness about me and my emotions, I'm sure seeing that would have killed him. His dark bronze hair was messy, as usual, and his bright green eyes were alight with happiness. I sighed again and thought about the ten month old and our lives.

My name is Isabella Swan. I'm nineteen years old, living and going to school in the Big Apple, and still in love with a young man that will never reach the age I am now because he lost his life way too early. The little boy sitting in the sandbox before is named Alexander Anthony Diggory. Alexander for his father's middle name, Diggory for his father's last, Anthony for his and his father's Italian heritage, he is a just under a year old and the spitting image of his father, whom Alex will never know. I sighed once more when I looked down at my son's face. Remember when I said I had nothing British about me? Yeah, well, I lied.

**Hey all! Yeah, I wanted to try something different with this little idea that's been percolatin' in my brain. So this will be a bit different than typical ExB stories, even though that's what it is, but it will be different than the norm. not sure yet if I will continue this or not, but I wanted to know what everyone here thought. So, let me know and I might see you all soon! And, even though I just put up this, LT, my Avatar story, is on hold until I'm done with finals week!**


	2. Edward

My world is lonely. I constantly feel like there is some hole, like some important thing from back then I don't remember, and seeing my family only makes it worse. At night, after ambling around for a short while, playing my piano, watching late night news, reading, whatever, I go into my room and relax. And every time I do and enter the fake half sleep my kind has, I always have memories that resurface. I do not remember where these memories were from, who it was that were in them, where they took place, etcetera, but I know it must have been from the past life that I do not remember. Some of them can actually be quite scary; black robes swirling around a dark, foggy ground, a horrible face cackling at the pain of a young man, flashes of green and red shooting across a dark night sky, men in skeletal masks ascending from out of nowhere to do the horrible looking mans bidding. The memories are not always like that though. Some nights I see the same young man talking with his friends and me and laughing. I see a great castle some nights with kids adorned in the black robes walking along the grounds or through halls or to a great hall filled with four tables. I sometimes get glimpses into classrooms where it seems we were doing…magic? No, that is malarkey. That can't be possible. Some nights still I do not know whether I have an overactive imagination or I'm just mental. It's those nights that I see a large crowd in a stadium and three large poles with holes at the tops at each end. The weird thing is the game taking place is being played by kids…who were flying…on broomsticks. And sometimes it looked like I was one of them. It were the nights where I was in the deepest "sleep" we could get that truly intrigued me. I never actually saw anything but it was like I was imagining things. It was me, but I knew that wasn't the rest. It was like half of it was missing. A very crucial half. And it was those times I would hear whispers. A beautiful voice would break its way into my mind and mutter quietly. _"Cedric…." _But who was Cedric? _"I love you…." _Who was she saying it to? But even through her lovely voice was saying things I don't understand, her voice would turn from sweet and kind and loving to desperate, hysterical and crying. _"Cedric! Cedric, no, don't do this to me, don't do this!"_ Her voice would pause here. _"No, no, no, no! No! Cedric come back, please come back! You can't do this, you can't leave me, not now! No-ho-ho…. No…. I never got to tell you….Cedric…" _And that would be the end. I wanted to know who this Cedric was, what it was exactly I was seeing in the dreams, for lack of a better term, who it was that was shouting in my head, and what they never got to tell this Cedric. Ah well, though. I have more pressing matters on my hands than finding out the identity of a person I don't know- like finding out my own. Another being my siblings and parents worry of me. I had recently been accepted and enrolled in college, claiming to be nineteen, and they were concerned about my control. I was new to this life- only two years old, just out of the newborn stage- but I had impeccable control. I've never slipped up, never wanted to, even once, and for that reason when I expressed my wish to continue my education, Carlisle approved. Yet another was this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that soon sometime things as I know it would change. So pardon me over not being overly concerned about the voice in my head and this "Cedric" character. Oh well. I have centuries to find all of this out. What's the rush when you have forever?

Yes, there are many things in my mind aside from everybody's thoughts. But right now I am just determined to prove myself over my self control.

I sighed quietly after checking the time and walked over to a mirror. I looked back at the reflection staring at me; the pale complexion, the mature but young face, the perfect features, the unruly bronze hair, the golden eyes, and wondered, _who am I? _

I sighed again. Like I said, centuries to figure this out. It's not like I'm getting any younger- or older.

My name is Edward Cullen. Not much is known about me, except my name and where I came from in England. I am technically nineteen but I will be seventeen forever. I currently live in New York and will be attending Pre Law classes at NYU (for some reason I had an urge to do law. Perhaps it was something from my former life). I don't sleep. I don't eat like humans do. I have heightend sense of hearing, smell, taste, sight and strength and I will never age. Why? Because I'm a vampire.

**Hey all! Still deciding whether to do this or not… Help me out!**


	3. Pictures and Dreams

**Woot! Hey all, I'm back. As you can probably tell, this chapter is longer than the other ones, and that's how it's going to be. It'll probably not be what you expect, so just let m know yay or nay.**

**Ahh I saw Eclipse at midnight! If you haven't seen it, GO.**

**And thank you to eternal-grace101, msmess21907, and GabzR for the reviews. This is for you!**

I returned from the park with Alex to our apartment I shared from a friend from my home town, Angela. We met during senior year when I returned to actual high school in the States, she didn't judge me like the rest when she found out about Alex, and she has been my best friend since, so it only made sense we share an apartment when I found we were going to the same college.

I took my now sleeping baby boy from his stroller and placed him in his crib before looking back down at him. My little man was such a great baby- he was never really fussy now or when he was younger (the exception being when he was first teething), he started sleeping through the night early, and if you gave him three square meals a day, some construction toys and a smile he was the happiest baby you could imagine.

I smiled slightly when he took a deep breath, his little chest rising and falling slowly. I bent down to place a kiss on his temple, right before the messy hair he inherited from his father. He and Cedric really were clones. I could only imagine how much of a heartbreaker my little boy would be when he was a teen.

I smoothed some hair away from his face and looked down at him again for a moment before looking at the picture I hung up on the wall above his crib. It was one of the typical moving pictures, though I made it one that didn't move too much so as not to freak out Ang too much, with a portrait of the devil himself- Cedric Alexander Diggory. It was taken right after his first challenge in the Tournament, with him just moving his head to the right a bit and smiling that typical Cedric crooked smile (another thing Alex had inherited).

I had a picture of my own in my room by my bedside. It was one of Ced and I, and I would have put it in Alex's room, but we were moving around too much. We were underneath our tree, wrestling and laughing, before coming to a stop, him below me, and him reaching up and kissing me.

The good memories suddenly flashed before and the waterworks began before I could stop them. I reached out my shaking hand to the glass and ran my first two fingers along his face. "Hey Ced. I miss you so much. Every day I see something to remind me of you. I thought it would get better with time but I guess not. Your son- and there is no doubt he is your son, you look totally alike- is doing great. He said his first word…dada…

Anyway, where ever you are- which there is only one place you would be- I hope you're okay. The one who did this to us is getting what he deserves. Harry sent me a letter the other day. It's almost over. I know it's horrible to think, but I always wish it were someone else and not you." I whispered before my voice cracked and the tears streamed.

I took a deep breath. "Oh god, Cedric, I wish you could see him. Alex is…perfect for lack of a better word. I know you'd be proud. I love our baby- and I love you." I stopped as the tears poured down my face heavily.

"That picture is so freaky. I swear it moves." I heard Angela's voice behind me and turned before giving a watery laugh.

"You're the only one that thinks that, Ang." She had smile on her face at my remark but it faded as soon as she saw my state.

"Oh, Bella. You've been thinking about him again, haven't you?"

There was no use in denying it, my most likely puffy red eyes and tear stained face gave me away, so I nodded and was quickly enveloped in a hug.

"It's okay, Bella, I understand you miss him."

"Thanks, Ang. You really have no idea how much I appreciate you. All you've done for me and Alex; I can never repay you-"

"Nonsense, Bella," She interrupted me. "You have nothing to thank me for. Now go into your room, lie down and take a nap!"

I complied and sat down on the side of my bed, looking at our picture before turning and getting under my covers. I tried clearing my mind of all thoughts and focused on breathing slowly and drifted off to sleep, into a land of memories…

A train whistle shrieked in the morning air as we raced along the beautiful English countryside. Harry, Ron, Hermione and I sat together in our compartment- well, Hermione and I did. Harry and Ron were currently buying from the candy cart lady.

"So, what even happened at the World Cup?" I asked.

"It was after the game was over. Everyone was celebrating when we heard screams and shouts and the next we know there are Death Eaters everywhere, Harry's gone, and the Dark Mark is shining in the sky." Hermione responded as the guys came and sat back down. "It's horrible. How can the Ministry not know who conjured it? Wasn't there any security?"

"Loads, according to Dad." Ron replied, his mouth full of food. "That's what worried them. It happened right under their noses."

I noticed Harry scratching slightly at his forehead. "Headache?" I asked lightly.

"I'm fine."

"I think you should tell your uncle about everything that's happened, what with what Hermione told me about the World Cup and everything."

"Yeah. I probably should."

The rest of the train ride went quickly. Harry wrote his letter, and everyone filled each other in on their summer activities. Soon enough, the large castle we know as Hogwarts filled our view from the carriages.

I went off with the rest of the seventh years. Our year got to enter the Great Hall early, so it was worth separating from my friends if it meant first dibs at our table. As usual, the four long tables were already filled with mountains of delicious looking food. My year sat down, followed by the sixth, fifth, fourth, third, second and finally the first years.

I saw Ron practically salivating at the prospect of Hogwarts' food in his mouth but he knew he would have to wait. Finally the first years were Sorted into their respective houses, and Dumbledore got up to speak.

"Now that we are all settled in and Sorted," He began, "I would like to make an announcement. This castle will not only be your home this year but home to some very special guests as well. You see, Hogwarts has been chosen-"

He was interrupted be Filch opening the doors to Hall, and running in like the weird little man he is. He finally stopped when he reached Dumbledore, and he began stage whispering in his ear. After a moment of this, he ran back out. By the looks on everyone's faces, I could tell we were all thinking the same thing… _what a weirdo…_

"As I was saying, Hogwarts has been selected to host a legendary event- the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Now, for those who do not know, the Tri-Wizard tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. From each school a single contestant is selected to compete." His voice turned grave and warning. "Now let me be clear; if chosen you stand alone. And trust me when I say these contests are not for the faint of heart."

As expected, when the warning was over, his voice turned warm again. "But more of that later. For now, please join me in welcoming the lovely ladies of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and their headmistress, Madame Maxime."

We all turned our heads to the doors to see girls clad in blue dresses and weird looking blue hats that as they walked up the aisle sighed and let go of butterflies. Hermione caught my eye and knew exactly what I was thinking. _My type of people. Joy._

The little French "princesses" were followed by who I assumed was their dean (yeah, I still said dean instead of headmistress). This lady had to be the tallest woman I had ever seen. It seemed others held my sentiments, as I heard Seamus let out a "Blimey, that's one big woman!"

The all got up to Dumbledore who welcomed the tall woman before going back to his podium and again announcing, "And now our friends from the north. Please welcome the proud sons of Durmstrang and their high master Igor Karkaroff."

This time, all guys came in, dressed in furs and gray outfits. Some had poles they would occasionally bang on the ground creating sparks followed by rhythmic grunts. There were two other people that came in the door, one of whom I didn't need to follow Quidditch to recognize. _Swoon._

"Blimey, it's him, it's Viktor Krum!" I could hear the awe in Ron's voice from across the table. It looked like I wasn't the only one swooning.

"Albus!" The one walking next to Viktor, who I assumed was their dean said in a thick accent and went to embrace Dumbledore.

"Igor." Dumbledore proceeded to hold out his arms in a sign of welcome.

The rest of dinner went off normally enough. We talked and ate jovially. As soon as everyone was thoroughly stuffed, Dumbledore got up once again and had a serious expression on his face. When we all saw, the entire hall quieted.

"Your attention please! I would like to say just a few words. Eternal glory- that is what awaits the student who wins the Tri-Wizard tournament. But to do this means that student must survive three extremely dangerous tasks."

I heard a quiet "wicked" from beside me and knew immediately it was Fred so I threw and elbow his way. I hit him, but probably ended up with a bruise anyway.

Dumbledore continued. "For this reason, the Ministry has seen fit to impose a new rule. To explain this we have the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Mister Bartemus Crouch."

As soon as his name was uttered, a huge thunder clap sounded from above and rain started leaking from the glass over our heads. And, God forbid anyone get their hair wet, but probably from other reasons too, everyone immediately started freaking out. People were screaming and shouting in other people's faces and the whole Hall was filled with the cacophony, the sounds echoing off the ancient walls.

I just stood in the middle of it, watching everyone run around like madmen until I saw someone standing in the doorway leading to the kitchen. He was husky looking, and that was all I could make out, except that he took his wand out of his shirt and pointed it to the ceiling. The rain stopped leaking and everyone immediately calmed back down.

The man walked in further towards the teachers table. He was wearing traveling clothes and looked very rugged, but the thing that stood out most was the eye, swiveling in its circular hold, held to his head by a piece of fabric.

It seemed I wasn't the only one to notice him or it, since everybody started whispering to one another. Or maybe everybody recognized him. I don't know. But I knew Ron recognized him.

"Bloody hell, it's Mad Eye Moody." He said in awe.

"Alastor Moody, the auror?" Leave it to Hermione to know who it was, too.

Ron scoffed slightly. "More like Dark Wizard catcher. Half the cells in Azkaban are filled thanks to him. He's supposed to be mad as a hatter these days though."

We watched as Dumbledore approached him, more than likely welcoming him. The man – Moody- pointed toward the ceiling and was probably saying some complaint about it.\

He took a quick swig of something, probably nothing to be had in a school, since he had a look of disgust after he drank it.

"What do you think he's drinking?" I had to ask, just to see if anyone else caught on to it. Harry answered.

"I don't know, Bella, but I don't think it's pumpkin juice."

Okay good I'm not crazy.

After Moody's grand entrance, another man stood up, and I took him to be the Crouch guy Dumbledore was talking about. He was nerdy looking little man, dressed all in black with an almost Hitler mustache, and nerd thing was just amplified when he stopped at the podium with his arms halfway out from his sides.

"After much deliberation, the Ministry has concluded that for their own safety, no student under the age of seventeen shall be allowed to put forth their name for the Tri- Wizard Tournament. This decision is final."

Before he even finished speaking, the Hall was up in arms… but mostly Fred and George.

"Boo, that's rubbish!"

"That's not fair! You don't know what you're doing!" We could all hear the twin's shout.

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore's commanding voice shouted. At one, everyone quieted. He walked forward to a box and with his wand started to melt some material off to reveal andold goblet with a blue flame.

"The Goblet of Fire. Anyone wishing to submit themselves for the tournament needs merely to write their name on a piece of parchment and throw it in the flames before this hour Thursday night. Do not do so lightly- if chosen, there is no turning back. As from this moment, the Tri- Wizard Tournament has begun."

His closing words rang through the hall.

The students were dismissed, year by year all crowding into the not so small doorway. When my year was called I walked briskly to the door try not to get jammed between the other hundreds of students. But I, of course having to be my clumsy self, tripped. I was waiting for the familiar stone floor to catch me, but it never did. Instead, I felt a pair of strong arms around my waist.

"Oh my God, I'm sorr-" I started, but cut off when I saw the most stunning, vibrant pair of green eyes I had ever seen. Looking at the rest of his face wasn't so bad either- high cheekbones, a perfect nose, plump lips, and some of the messiest hair I had ever seen. He was…beautiful.

But then he smiled crookedly. I couldn't remember to breathe.

"T-Thank you." I managed to stutter out. He grinned just a little wider, showing off his dimples.

"Not a problem. Are you okay?" He asked in the traditional English brogue I was used to that somehow sounded so much better in his velvet voice.

"Y-Yeah. I'm good. I tend to do that a lot." _Ugh. Seriously, Swan? Way to impress, you dolt!_

"Well, good, I'm glad you're okay. I'm guessing you're in my year, so I'll be sure to see you around." He smiled quickly once again before taking my hand and pressing a light kiss to its back, his eyes never leaving mine, before turning around and joining his House. My heart beat wildly.

That was the first time I saw _him._

**Review!**


	4. Cedric Diggory

Two days had passed. Since it was the beginning of the year, we had one day of relaxation as the students all got their schedules and the first years got shown around the castle to each of their classrooms. The annual Quidditch flyers that adorned the halls had appeared overnight, luggage had been claimed and stowed to our dorms and us sixth and seventh years watched as the younger kids ran around like chickens with their heads cut off.

Our second day was filled with four of eight classes. All we had done, and all we were doing tomorrow as well, were filling out papers- parent/emergency contact, House, year, birthday, class schedule, any limitations that would prohibit you from doing classwork, etcetera. _Humph, if only clumsiness like mine could get me out Potions with Snape…_

Oh well, wishful thinking. Through the tediousness of filling out forms, during all four classes, I, being the pathetic person I am, looked for the boy I fell into the other night. I figured since he was in my year, we would have one class together, at least. But at the end of the day, all I had from the search was unexplained disappointment.

I could not get the young man out of my head. There was just…something about him, something that almost… drew me to him. Maybe it was his looks, or how nice he was when I plummeted face first into him. The stupidest part was I didn't even know his name! Whatever it was, I knew I was thinking about _way _too much, and it seemed everyone else noticed.

"Bella? Are you okay? You were very quiet and withdrawn at lunch break today, too." Hermione pulled me from my thoughts. I smiled at her in reassurance before telling her I was fine. I heard the door open, and as per human nature, looked over towards it.

"I'm fine, Hermione, I've just been… thinking… a lot…" I saw a shade of reddish brown hair I would recognize anywhere come through the door and trailed off. It was _him. _And somehow, all the way across the Great Hall, he was able to scramble my thoughts.

Hermione followed my gaze before looking back and laughing. "Bella, are you looking at that tall boy that just came in?"

Still in my stupor, I nodded, embarrassingly with my mouth open.

She laughed again. "Well, you've certainly got exquisite taste. That's Cedric Diggory; Captain of Hufflepuff's Quidditch team and Seeker, like Harry, seventh year, and Prefect."

"Not to mention- just look at him! Ahh, I can't believe he's still single!" Ginny exclaimed as she sat. I couldn't help but to agree with that.

I opened my mouth to comment, but before any sound could come out, I heard the guys' voices from behind me and Ron plop down between me and Ginny on the bench.

"What are you girls gossiping about now? Oh look, pudding…"

I caught Hermione's look. We just rolled our eyes.

After yet another dinner watching Ron, Fred, George, and Harry stuff themselves, we all made our way to the Goblet Room to see who would be putting their names in the fire.

"Come on, Bella, do it!" Ron started, yet again.

"Yeah, come on!"

"Please Bella?"

"That'd be so awesome!"

"Do it!"

"I would _pay _to see you do half the stuff they have to!"

"Guys, no. This is me you're talking to. I can't even walk down the halls without tripping at least once, and you expect me do the challenges in the Tri- Wizard Tournament? And thanks for your confidence, Freddy."

I smiled when he glowered at me. He loved that name.

"But Bells, you're the only one that's of age!"

At the sound of "of age," George immediately perked up and exclaimed, "Blimey, that's right! Come on Fred, we forgot something!"

After a look of recognition from Fred, the two took down the hallway. I watched their retreating backs before shaking my head and looking back to the others.

"Again. I'm not called the Awkward American for nothing."

For some reason, they left me alone after that. It was very strange, considering once Ron and Ginny have something on their minds to do they don't give up about it. Especially concerning me.

As we made our way into the room, Harry and Ron went together over by the Goblet to ogle it and us girls went to sit down. Naturally, as soon as we did Hermione took out a book and Ginny turned to talk to some girls in her year.

Sighing, I stood up and found a nice spot against the wall by the door to occupy. After a few minutes people watching, I knew the party was starting as soon as I heard boys voices coming from down the hall. Sure enough, after a moment a group of guys came in, pushing one forward.

One that had pale skin, bronze hair and the most beautiful smile I had ever seen.

When _he_- who I now knew was Cedric- reached the bluish ring, he looked around the room quickly before turning and putting a little piece of paper in the fire.

He looked around once more and when he looked in my direction, he smiled slightly and winked. Knowing that wasn't directed at me I looked around quickly but when I looked back toward him he inclined his head towards me. _No way. Nuh uh. He couldn't be aiming that at me…_

He jumped out of the ring and rejoined his friends, who started cheering like the rest of the room.

The rest I did not pay attention to. My thoughts were clouded by _him._

I was slightly aware of Fred and George coming inside.

I was briefly aware of Hermione telling them off.

I was somewhat aware of them drinking something and jumping into the ring.

I was totally aware of someone pulling my arm and making me go around the doorway.

"Ahh!" I exclaimed but felt a warm finger at my lips. I looked up at whoever this was to see a familiar mop of bronze hair and pale skin.

"Well, hello again to you, too," _he_ said with a smirk. I could feel my eyes widen and my mouth drop a bit.

"H-Hi."

"You know, I don't think I caught your name or what House you're in the other day…" he trailed off and I knew to fill my name into the silence.

"Bella."

"_Bella... un bel nome per una bella ragazza. Esso si adatta bene." _I recognized that he was speaking Italian, but as to what he was saying, I had no idea. _"Il mio nome è Cedric."_ That part I was able to figure out.

"Cedric… Well, thanks again for catching me," I told him, feeling my signature blush creep up my face. I looked down immediately to the floor next to his feet.

I heard him chuckling beside me and felt a few fingers guide my chin up to look into vibrant green eyes. "It was absolutely no problem. And again, you have not answered what House you are in, Miss America."

"Gryffindor."

"I had figured. I myself am in Hufflepuff. Now, Bella, do you mind me asking a question?"

"N-No. Go-go ahead."

We looked at each other for a moment, me biting my lip like I always did when I felt awkward, him with a slight smile lighting up his feature, before he uttered out the words;

"What classes do you have tomorrow?"

"Umm, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, a free period and… History of Magic?" It came out as a question as I heard the sounds of a struggle and kids chanting "fight!" in the back in the other room. But all the background noise disappeared as Cedric's face broke out in a smile.

"Well. We have most of the day together, then. The only one is History of Magic."

I had almost the whole day with Cedric? Wow. I could get used to every other day…

I blushed when I realized I had blanked out. "That sounds like it'll be interesting."

He let out a loud belly laugh. "Oh, Bella, you've no idea. I've got to go, Quidditch try outs and the lot, but I will see you tomorrow morning?"

"Of course."

"Bella!" I heard someone back in the goblet room yell for me. Cedric must have, too, because he seemed slightly irritated for a small moment but quickly rearranged his face into a smile.

"It seems like you have got to go, as well." With this he quickly pulled up my hand and gave it a chaste kiss like he had two days ago. "See you tomorrow." And he walked away.

"Bella! There you are, I was look-" Hermione stopped talking when she saw I wasn't paying attention to her, instead to Cedric's back. When he turned the corner, he smiled and waved quickly before disappearing. "Bella, was that Cedric Diggory?"

"Uh huh."

"Is that who you were talking to out here?"

"Uh huh." I smartly replied again.

"Oh… my god."

"What?"

"Cedric has never talked to a girl outside of classes before… ever."

"Really?" She nodded. "Huh. Wow."

Ginny came out then, wondering where I had been. Hermione answered for me, and Ginny turned to me, wide-eyed and with her mouth dropped before it started going a thousand miles an hour.

I didn't pay attention to her incessant babbling as we made our way back to the Common room, though. My thoughts were about a mile away, some feet in the air above the Quidditch field…

The rest of the evening went by quickly. Snape had already assigned a thousand word essay for us, due next class, and by the time I was done, it was well after midnight, which meant it was way too late for a shower. I sighed. That meant one in the morning, instead of breakfast.

I gathered up my paper and books and trudged my way up to the dorms and a dreamless sleep only interrupted occasionally by a pair of green eyes.


	5. First Weekof School

**Sorry it's so late! My friend has been involved in a huge thing that was 5 am, 6 am, 12, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11 o' clock newsworthy where we live. And those are just in one day. Anyway it started in the beginning of the month with one person, then another person, so didn't know what to do in regards to coming forward and when she did I was her buffer. Not that I mind, she's my friend and I want to be there for her, it just hasn't helped with updates. And figures the biggest day she's going to have I'm not even in FM. Then I had my EE to write. Then I had band camp (which I so did not want to go to). And now we're here and I have school starting Monday! Woot seniors!...=| And I have a cruise next week so see you guys next month probably!**

As expected, I arrived late to breakfast, only grabbing a quick muffin before getting to class. Somehow time slowed down enough that I made it class with a few moments to spare and put my head down until the bell rang. The minutes still slowed, I noticed, when I looked up from my forearms to the clock that said we had another two minutes. _Oh come on, I've been half asleep longer than that_ … With a groan my head once again found my arms.

I must have dozed off a little because when I opened my eyes again, I heard Professor Moody had started his lecture. I was glad to have had a seat in the back, alone from his or anyone else's eye. I propped my head up on my hand and didn't look at the desolate chair next me again.

That is, I didn't look at it until I heard the chair moving and saw a shade of bronze flash.

"Mr. Diggory!" Moody barked and the bronze froze. "Nice of you to join us and to have woken up Ms. Swan next to you."

I looked down and blushed, knowing the class was looking back at us. _Crap, I didn't think he had noticed…_

But then another thought crossed my mind… Cedric was sitting next to me. A slow, goofy grin spread its way across my face. But why would I have been so happy?

After the embarrassing introduction to year seven Defense Against the Dark Arts, (Moody had used Cedric and I as an example many, many times), the rest of class went by quickly. It seemed in no time at all the bell rang.

I blanked out towards the last ten minutes and was shocked back into reality when I heard the rest of the class' chairs scraping on the old stone. I hastily shoved my books into my bag and ran to the door, only to be met by Cedric leaning on the wall. As soon as he spotted me, he smiled. There goes my train of thought.

He pushed his weight from his foot and made his way towards me., still smiling that dazzling smile

"Morning, Bella," He greeted warmly and once he was by my side turned so we could walk together. "Have a nice nap, then?" At first I was slightly offended, but I could tell by his amused expression that he was teasing.

"Well of course. It was better than having to fully see you when you came in." Going to mess with me? Ha, two can play that game.

I walked forward a few feet in front of him and smirked over my shoulder when I saw him standing still. When he caught my smirk, though, one of his own appeared and he used his long legs to briskly catch up to me.

"Yes, obviously, who would want to see my face so early?" I laughed a little. Who indeed…oh right, I had an answer! Me!

"Oh so you see my point then?"

We kept bantering back and forth the whole way to Transfiguration, naturally getting some stares and looks of disbelief. Our laughs, some little and some…well…not, echoed off the castle walls back to us, making us sound louder than we actually were and earning a few glares from teachers and other students.

This continued all the way up to the hallway, when I apparently said something funny and Cedric burst out laughing louder than he had this whole time. He had it so bad he had to stop walking and hold onto the wall with one hand and drape his other arm across his stomach. I watched his face; I loved the way his eyes crinkled at the side even though they were closed, the way his skin was still smooth through the fact he was smiling and laughing. I eventually came out of my stupor long enough to laugh a little, too.

When our laughter finally died down enough where we could look at each other without busting out again, we took the final couple steps to the door. Cedric put his hand on my shoulder blade and guided us in and to a still empty table that we quickly occupied and paid attention to Professor McGonagle's introduction. Well, we mostly paid attention.

The class was filled with us sneakily looking at each other, the other one catching the first, and then both of us looking down and smiling a little (and in my case blushing). About forty five minutes in, though, we were both resembling tomatoes.

We thought we were being sneaky and no one else had noticed our little game, but apparently not. After one time we actually looked at each other for a full half a minute, the moment was broken by McGonagle.

"Mr. Diggory! Miss Swan! That has got to be the hundredth time today I have caught you two staring at each other! Do you two have some fixation with each other or do you just enjoy watching the other's every move?"

This time we just looked down. No smiles. Just embarrassment and red staining our faces as we heard the class giggling.

For the rest of class, needless to say, we tried not looking at each other.

After that horrific period, we were once again the last to leave. But instead of waiting by the door, Cedric waited patiently for me to put my books away by our desk.

"Bella, I'm sorry for-" I cut him off. He didn't need to say anything.

"Cedric, you have nothing to apologize for."

"But I feel like I do." He ran a hand through his hair, making it even messier and perfect.

"And I still don't. Just imagine if we keep in touch over the years, this could be one of those 'remember when' memories."

A brilliant smile lit up his face. "Now that you put it that way, it doesn't seem so bad. And we will be keeping in touch, I guarantee it." For some reason, I really liked the idea of us talking even after school. "Now, might I invite you to sit outside for a little while with me during free period? I know this brilliant place I think you would enjoy."

He actually looked a bit nervous for a moment, until I cracked a smile. "Of course I would." He gave me another smile as we exited the room.

We walked for a little while, simply chatting the whole time, and made our way from the east wing to the courtyard about five minutes away. Once there, Cedric led us through it to the castle grounds, to a medium sized tree a little bit away from the school itself.

"Well, here we are. I usually come out here during free periods to just sit and think by myself."

I could see why. From this spot we could see part of castle, the black lake, and the hills behind it. It was beautiful and calming. But also not many students came out this way, so it was obviously perfect for some alone time. I let out a quiet 'wow' of appreciation and heard Cedric chuckle from behind me.

"Yes, that was my first antiphon, too." I heard the grass get disturbed and turned back to see Cedric sitting on a small patch covered in shade. He caught my gaze and patted the space next to him.

As soon as I sat down, I could feel his eyes on me and turned to meet them. The overhead sun coming through the leaves shined on his eyes in a way that made them glow and his pale skin caught the light in an almost ethereal way. His green orbs were watching me in much the same way I just was him and searching my face for something.

"Bella…" His expression turned weird, almost speculative for a moment as he whispered my name.

"Yes?" I used the same low voice he had.

"I…" He didn't continue. His vibrant eyes got closer to me, flickering to the bottom half of my face. His own was just a few inches from my own, and my lips parted slightly for some reason. Cedric stopped, close to my face, and searched it for something. Confirmation or fear, maybe. Whatever it may have been, it seemed he found it, for his eyes lit up briefly and his face got even closer. His forehead was so close I could feel it almost touching my own, and he closed his eyes slowly and inhaled when-

"Bloody _hell_!" Cedric was almost instantly standing up and dancing around out from under the tree before quickly reaching for his lower back and pulling off a Fanged Frisbee.

A kid ran up to us, apologizing furiously, before looking up to see Cedric's deeply irritated face. The boy slowly lifted up the Frisbee without taking his eyes off Cedric's glare and retreated quickly. When Cedric sat back down, I smacked him on the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"For what you just did! You looked ready to kill the kid."

"No, not really. He had just interrupted- never mind. Can we just talk for a while? As much as I feel like I know you, I don't know much about you."

I smiled and eagerly agreed. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything. Where you're from, favorite color, your birthday, favorite food, sport, about your family, what you want to do after school, if your parents are wizards, too, if-" He rambled on and on, and eventually I cut him off with a small laugh.

"Whoa, slow down, Ced." He smirked at the new nickname and I realized what I had just done and blushed. "Alright, I'll see if I can remember everything you just said...Okay. I'm from some Podunk small town on the Washington State peninsula named Forks. My parents are divorced. My dad still lives in Forks where he's the police chief, but my mom moved to Phoenix, Arizona when I was young and I stayed with her.

I'm an only child, but my mom may or may not be having another from her new husband. He plays minor league baseball and it works out well since his season is when we're in school. So no, I'm a magical mutt.

It usually varies but right now my favorite color is green. My birthday is September thirteenth. I absolutely love Italian, especially a good plate of chicken parmesan. Even though Phil plays, I cannot stand baseball, football is another thing though." Then I remembered. "Oh not your guys' football, American football with the huge guys in helmets and pads and-"

"Yeah, I get you." He interrupted, but not in a rude sort of way. I smiled slightly.

"After I'm done at Hogwarts, I would really like to go back to the states, finish up my high school classes and hopefully go into law school." As soon as I said this, his eyes lit up.

"Really? I've always wanted to go into law or medical fields. There's just something so interesting in the way cases are solved, it's like one big puzzle you have to figure out that can make or break you, and- oops, sorry. I forgot you were talking." While he was babbling, I had leaned back, digging my palms into the ground to support my weight. I loved how passionate he sounded about it all.

"No, it's okay, I was done. Keep going though."

"Yeah, like I was saying I just love that aspect. That and the fact it's helping others and bettering their lives." I nodded in agreement. "But unfortunately, my father doesn't exactly share my sentiments. He supports me in everything I do, but he'd much rather see me go into a job at the Ministry than into the Muggle world. I'll still try my damnedest, especially if it means more school with you." He sent me a half smile and a quick wink.

"Oh don't worry you'll be sick of me soon enough."

He let out a loud scoff.

"I highly doubt that, Bella. Now, since you say you were done what would you like to know?"

"Umm, everything, so I'll just recycle your questions." He chuckled.

"Okay. Well, where to start? I guess…"

Time flew by after we had started our talk. I found out Cedric was an only child like me, but his mom had died when he was a toddler so his parents didn't have the chance to try for more kids. He had been playing Quidditch from the first time his father had introduced him to a broomstick and had always been a Seeker. He took over the Hufflepuff team when he was a fourth year but he also played rugby on local teams in summer. He was originally from Ottery St. Catchpole and actually lived near the Weasley's, even though his not too distant family roots traced back to Italy, and if he was late to class he usually smiled, apologized smoothly, and barely ever got in trouble.

After calming down from one particularly funny story of him as a baby, I finally got the idea to check the time on my phone.

"Crap! Crap, crap, crap, crap!"

"What is it Bella?" I held my phone up for him to see and he crossed his eyes trying to see what I was showing him. Oops. Guess I put it too close to his face.

"Do you see what time it is? We missed our last class! I've never missed class before, what's going to-"

"Bella!" I stopped mid-rant to look back at Ced. He had an infuriatingly amused expression and I could tell he wasn't taking me seriously. "Bella, nothing is going to happen. I've done this before. Relax."

I eyed him speculatively. "Fine, but if I get in trouble, watch your back." He chuckled lightly before hoisting himself up and offering his hand to me. I took it gently, almost like I was testing the waters and let him guide me back to a standing position.

Once I was upright again, I looked up to his face and noticed that same weird look again from earlier and noticed he still hadn't let go of my hand. Not that I minded. I looked down at our feet briefly before looking at his eyes again and suddenly felt his free hand brushing back a strand of hair. But just as suddenly as the moment started, Cedric was a step away, looking pissed again.

"Ooh, Swan and Diggory, eh? Come on, Diggory, I thought you had more taste than a mudblood. You should go for that Chinese girl, it's obvious she likes you." As soon as I realized it was Draco, AKA most annoying kid ever, I was just as pissed as Cedric.

"Malfoy, walk away. Now. Before I do to you what I did on the pitch last year, only this time on purpose." The little greasy haired weasel's eyes widened considerably but motioned to the two kids beside him to leave. Cedric glared at them with his fists clenched until they were out of eyesight.

"Ced? Ready to go?" I asked gently.

"Yeah. Let's."

The next week proceeded much like that day had; sit next to each other in Defense, walk with each other to Transfiguration and sit next to each other again, then walk out to our tree and talk or just sit in silence enjoying one another's company. Each day ended in a long hug and a promise to see each other soon. And we actually got to class on time afterward.

Hermione and Ginny had literally squealed when I told them what happened underneath the tree. They kept saying, "Oh my god, he was so going to kiss you!" for four days after I said anything. But I didn't believe them. Why would he want to kiss me?

One morning that week, I had received a letter from my mom, telling me how everyone was doing and what was going on etcetera, but at the bottom of the page there was a note about my sixteen year old childhood best friend from Forks, Jacob. He had been being his usual idiotic self and speeding and popping wheelies on his motorcycle and crashed. I knew he would be okay, that kid was such a fast healer it was ridiculous, and my mom said he wasn't hurt too badly, but I was concerned for him.

During classes that day, I could tell Cedric had noticed my distraction and wanted to ask me about it. It was only under our tree he finally acted on his urges and asked.

"Bella? What's wrong, is everything okay?"

I smiled slightly. "Yeah, Ced, everything's fine."

His eyebrows creased together, but he didn't press. "Okay. Just remember that if you need anything, I'll be here for you. Anything at all."

I didn't respond. I couldn't. Why? That was one of those "oh, crap" moments.

That was when I realized I liked Cedric Alexander Diggory.

**Blahhh that ending was really badly rushed. Sorry guys. So… yeah if anyone would like to beta this since I am no good at all at revising my own stuff, send me a PM or say it in a review. Leave me love and thanks for the people that reviewed last time!**


	6. Drama and Happiness

"Bella?" Cedric's gentle tone broke through my stopped mind. It was then I realized my mouth had dropped and I hadn't responded to him in a short while. With a visible shake of my head, I smiled toward him.

"Thanks, Ced. I appreciate it, really." He gave me a small smile in return.

"It's not a problem at all, Bella."

After talking for a little bit longer, Cedric grabbed my hand and helped me off the ground, and we made our way back to the castle. We walked together to the Great Hall and parted after a long hug.

Our routine continued daily, only after a while Professor McGonagall had enough of us getting distracted by each other and she moved us to separate sides of the room. That lasted about two class periods after she was fed up of Cedric always levitating notes toward me.

On the other side of the Hogwarts world, everyone in Gryffindor has had to deal with Ron being a total pissant to Harry because of the Tournament and Harry being in it.

He thinks he's a freakin' genius, going around telling everyone in the Common Room, regardless if we want to listen or not, that Harry's a cheat and a liar and doesn't deserve to be a part of the competition.

Ron's hating and berating on his supposed 'best friend' was starting to take a toll on everyone else. Hermione was feeling torn between the two, Ginny was angry as hell at her brother, and I just ignored all of them. Every time Ron would come near me, I would immediately turn my iPod on and listen to whatever came on shuffle. He was being an idiot! Anyone could see that Harry had obviously not put his name in there and that was the last thing he needed anyway. It didn't help that people from the other Houses, including Ced's friends, had started wearing these "Cedric rules! Potter stinks!" badges around school.

One day a weekend or so before the first challenge, Cedric and I were walking around the Black Lake and we saw Harry sitting with Neville, looking forlornly out towards the dark water.

"How, he is fairly torn up about this, isn't he?" Ced asked. I nodded. "Do you want to…?" He didn't need to finish. I nodded my head, still looking at the hunched over boy. I looked back up at Cedric, feeling like I was going to be abandoning him for Harry's sake, yet again. He smiled down at me and stroked my cheek with his knuckles, obviously reading my face.

"It's fine Bella. Do you want me to go, or stay back a little bit and let you two talk for a little while and wait?"

I was going to tell him to go and hang out with his guy friends, but stopped disentrance when I saw a familiar shade of red and brown coming down the path. "Stay please? I have a feeling this will only be a few minutes."

He nodded understandingly before giving me a hug and a slightly lingering kiss on the cheek (a move that had started a few short weeks ago, but I had no complaints). I made my way to Harry, and saw the turmoil in his eyes before I even sat down next to him.

We didn't need words to have our short conversation. But before long we heard Hermione- "Ron, you're being ridiculous! Why can't you-ughh!"

"Sorry Harry, but it's time to take my leave." He gave me look of understanding and stoop up along with me. As I walked back toward Cedric, I hear Hermione list off what Ron wanted her to tell Harry, followed by confusion, and brief yelling and I winced. Cedric stood by me in silence as we walked away, rubbing my back in a way that only Cedric could.

"Cedric Diggory, I swear if you do not give that I'll…!" I didn't finish, hoping he would catch the hint and just give me my damn phone back instead of running around multiple trees and attempting to go through it.

"You'll what, little girl? Come and get me?" He teased. I glared back at him and he just laughed. "Try it."

I marched as well as I could on the uneven ground to him, before he shot up and ran to our tree. Damn Quidditch- player reflexes! Fortunately the ground was totally flat, so u could actually slightly run to him. I knew he wasn't going full speed and it was a slow enough pace for me to catch up to him in no time. I jumped on his back and tried tackling him to the ground successfully (that must have been his doing), but by this time I was laughing with him, especially when he ended up on the floor on his back and me on top of him.

After our laughter subsided, he gave me back my phone, thankfully and I let him up. We sat leaning on each other in the coolness of the shade on the crisp day in silence for a few moments before Cedric spoke.

"Hey, uh, Bella? Can I ask you a couple of questions?"

"Of course. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing. I was just wondering…" He trailed off and almost sounded…nervous?

"Yes?"

"Will you be at the first challenge next weekend?" He was looking towards me, eyebrows mashing together and a look of worry on his face.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" He breathed out quickly and looked almost…relieved… and then started rambling in his unique Cedric way.

"Oh, uh, I don't know, you don't really seem like that would be what would hold your attention for as long as it was going to be, and-" I cut him off by putting my hand on his cheek.

"Cedric, my youngest friend is competing, and so is one of my favorite people in the world." Oh my god. Favorite person in the world? Oh my god I did not just say that him. Ugh. I kept mentally berating myself, many thoughts similar to these running through my mind, until I looked back up at his face and saw one of the most brilliant smiles I had ever seen from anyone.

It was one of those smiles you would imagine seeing in the Sistine Chapel.

"Bloody perfect. Can you come by the champions' tent before it starts?" I nodded.

"Brilliant. Now for my next one." He suddenly turned nervous again, looking everywhere but me and starting to fidget a little. "Um, you're going to Hogsmeade on the sixteenth, right?"

Oh yeah. I had forgotten about our Hogsmeade trip until now. "Mm-hmm. Why?"

"Uh, well, yeah, um, I've uh, actually been wondering something. Bella…" He stopped

after my name.

"Yes?" I prompted gently, curious now as to what would make flawless Cedric Diggory tongue-tied.

"Well, um, Bella…" He took a deep, calming breath before continuing. "Would you… well, would you like to accompany me there?"

Wait... did he just say wait I think he said? "W-What?"

"Would you, uh, like to come with me to Hogsmeade, like-like as a…date?"

_Would I like to go with Cedric Diggory on a date with Hogsmeade_. I repeated like a mantra in my head. After some high numbered time, it finally hit me what he was trying to ask. _We're going to Hogsmeade in two weeks, so will you go on a date with me while we're there?_ A large, goofy smile spread across my face and I looked back up to him. I could tell by how his expression changed he understood what my reaction meant.

"Cedric…yes. I would love to." His face got a smile of his own and leapt up so we could get to class on time. He grabbed my hand and helped me up, as per usual, but this time he kept hold of my hand and intertwined his fingers with my own as we walked to path back to the castle.

Our smiles lasted the rest of the day.

As soon as we got back inside, we naturally got some stares, not that I expected any different. I was holding hands with a demigod. ME! Plain Jane Bella Swan, the quiet girl that hung out with Harry Potter and Co., and had the annoying American accent.

Not that I cared. I was walking down the hall to eighth period with the guy I liked, only this time I was fairly sure he liked me back. We walked all the way down to my History of Magic class, on the opposite side of the school.

"Cedric, my god, how many times to I have to tell you you don't have to walk all the way over here with me?"

"Not often," he said with a smirk. "Just every other day that we have classes." I just rolled my eyes at him.

"Fine. Then go, Mr. Stubborn." He laughed at his new name before leaning down to give me a hug and a kiss on the corner of my mouth, slightly cautiously, before pulling back, looking pleased with himself, and walking away with a wink and a "I'll text you later, Bell."

I stood there for a few moments in shock. _He…really…almost just kissed…me?_

After getting over not being able to move, my class went by quickly, but that was probably because I kept thinking about the past couple hours. As soon as the bell rang, I was up and grabbing my iPhone from my pocket, knowing there was one person I needed to talk to, and I had an email waiting from her.

_From: Mom _

_Bella Boo! How are you sweetie? How is school going? I'm so proud of you! It's your last year there, and then you're off to college! Meet any cute guys? Remember to be safe, Isabella. I remember how I was before I met your father LOL. Do I need to send birth control? Cold medicine? Anything you need, let me know. Get back to me soon; I want to know all! Love you!_

Ahh, my eccentric mother. I blushed badly at her message and almost gagged when I read about her as a teenager.

She met my dad in senior year of high school and started dating him soon after. They married soon after graduating, and nine months later came me. After a few years, though, she got bored with my small little birth town and longed for more whereas Charlie was content in Forks. We moved to Arizona where she met Phil a few years later and quickly became Mrs. Dwyer.

Instead of emailing her, I just quickly texted her back.

_Hey mom. Schools going great so far. Mom! Don't even worry about that! But I did kinda meet someone. His name's Cedric. We first saw each other the first day when I bumped into him, we got to be good friends, and, well he asked me to go on a date with him to Hogsmeade. Text me back! Love you._

Not expecting her to respond anytime soon considering it's about six a.m. in Phoenix compared to my one p.m. and my mother has never gotten up that early that I've known her, I made my way to the Great Hall for lunch, absentmindedly smiling and thinking about how today had worked out. I could honestly say it had been one of my most favorite days in my life so far, but I had an insistent feeling its rank would be shifted out of the top ten this year.

My thoughts were interrupted by my phone vibrating in my vest pocket.

_Isabella Marie Swan! You WILL be calling me whenever you have a chance and telling me ALL the details! Is he cute? Where's he from? Is he English? (I'm betting he is, since you're in England, but how do I know, you're American!) What's he like? Does he play that one sport, Kee-ditch, or Quistich or whatever? I'm sending you a box now. I know you get colds around the time you'll get it, so get over it. When's the trip into that little town? Oh! Have someone take a picture of you and him while you're there on your phone and send it to me!_

Her message ended there. I should have expected that reaction. I laughed out loud at her attempt to remember 'Quidditch'. I responded quickly, telling her that yes, he did play _Quidditch, _yes he's an Englishman_, _that Hogsmeade was in two days, on Saturday, and I'd tell her everything else later since I was going to lunch.

Continuing on into the Great Hall, I spotted the Weasley's and proceeded down the aisle, but my distraction had picked off where it left off. I sat down next to Hermione quietly and grabbed something to eat, but what I wasn't sure. Cedric was clouding my thoughts.

Unfortunately, Ginny wasn't as naïve to boys as her brothers thought and would have wished, and picked up on me immediately.

Leaning across the table, she stage whispered. "Who is it?"

I pretended not to realize what she was saying. "I don't know what you're talking about."

She pulled herself back to her spot with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged and continued on with my meal, trying to understand what the guys were talking about and throwing in my two cents whenever it was needed.

Lunch went by quickly, and I stood up while Ron was stuffing his face with some more food to leave, noticing as I walked down the aisle a tall figure with messy hair that was getting up. I waited outside of the doors for him and once he saw me we grabbed each others hands and went outside for the remainder of the day.

As soon as I opened my eyes the next morning I knew I was late. With a look at my phone's clock, that was confirmed.

"Oh crap, crap, crap, crap!"

I quickly got dressed, doing my tie up messily, running a brush through my tangles once or twice, not enough to make an impact, didn't bother to look at which books I had shoved on my bed for me to bring, and left the common room with one school shoe and one Ugg slipper on and shoving the other shoe with my books, knowing Cedric would be waiting for me in the courtyard after breakfast.

I got downstairs only a few minutes late, shockingly enough.

After earning a few strange looks at my appearance and shoveling in a muffin, I proceeded to go outside.

He was waiting, as he always was, with his back to me and his arms crossed behind him.

My footsteps slowed, and he heard me approaching and turned around with a smile.

"Bella…"

"Hey." I smiled at the anticlimactic greeting.

"Hey, you." Cedric turned fully and gave me a hug. It was only after his arms moved from

my body that I realized how cold I actually was. Frowning, I looked down.

"Oh, damn it." I swore under my breath.

"What's wrong? Forgetting something, other than your other shoe?" He teased lightly.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah. My cloak." He took a look at me with a frown before I saw that he had thought of something. He unbuttoned his, took it off, draped it over me and covered my lips with a warm finger before I could object.

"Don't protest. Just go with this. I don't want you to get sick before tomorrow."

I nodded, but then thought of something as I sat down to change shoes. "But wait…won't you get sick?"

Cedric chuckled and squatted down next to my legs. "No. I've lived here all my life, unlike you, Arizona. I'm used to it. Hell, I've played Quidditch in worse weather than this." I contemplated that, remembering the days in Forks that I would eventually get adjusted to the differing temperatures.

He chuckled once again when I tried shrugging into the overly long sleeves and helped me up. "Come on. Let's get to class, shall we?"

Our day continued by quickly. While we had no classes together, we talked during all of our classes, until it was finally time for lunch.

Excited by the prospect of seeing Ced soon, I forgot I had his cloak on.

We talked about tomorrow's trip, where everyone was going, who was paying for what, and so on.

"Bella, you're going with us, right?" Ron asked out of the blue. _Oh crap._

"No, not this time guys. Sorry."

"You're not? Oh come on, we need someone of age for when we go to Zoinko's!"

"Well, sorry, Ron."

"Are you going at all?" Ginny asked next. I nodded. "Are you going with someone?" I dropped my head, feeling a blush appear at the thought of who I was going with. "Oh my God, you are!" She accused.

"No I'm not! I just have some stuff to do there that I need to be there by myself to do!"

"Ooh, is little Ms. Innocent Bella doing some dark magic?" George started in on me.

"No!" I replied heatedly. Fortunately, everyone saw my glare and dropped it.

Towards the end of lunch, however, Hermione finally noticed me pushing up my sleeves every time I reached toward the table and looked closer. I heard her gasp.

"Bella, why are you wearing a Hufflepuff cloak?" I heard her, but I didn't. Cedric was getting up two tables away, saw me and smiled. My head fell and then I looked back up with a smile on my face and waved back when I saw him doing the motion. She peaked an eyebrow and followed my gaze.

"Isabella Swan! Is that Cedric Diggory's cloak?" She demanded. I just nodded as he sent another smile my way. And then Hermione, being the smart person she is, figured everything out. "You're going with him tomorrow, aren't you?" She asked with a smile.

The next morning couldn't come quick enough. I stayed up late on the phone with Mom, telling her everything about anything from this year. When we finally said our goodbyes, it was almost one a.m. and when I tried to sleep I couldn't. I finally fell asleep, but woke up around six. Three hours to go.

I took a shower to make sure I smelled decent enough, and after hacking at my head with a brush and getting dressed, went down to the Great Hall. By the time my hair was done the Hall opened and the teachers went to eat.

I had a small breakfast of a blueberry muffin, a couple silver dollar pancakes and some coffee and read the paper. There were a few other kids in there eating, so I didn't feel too bad about being downstairs.

After abandoning my place, I walked around for a little while and ended up in the Common Room. I had changed my clothes into some I wore back home, knowing we could wear normal clothes on the trip, but I had Cedric's cloak draped over me. It was long enough to be one of my Snuggies. Feeling warm and listening to music put me quickly to rest, and I soon blanked out on the world again

When I woke up again, people were rushing out of the Common room, and I knew it was almost time to go. Looking at my phone's screen, this was confirmed,

The idea excited yet scared me at the same time- In half an hour, I would be leaving with the first guy I had a preference for on my first date. Time went at a decent speed after my short nap, and soon I was out the door, following the other people of my year, who got to go before the rest.

Our footsteps echoed in the halls, only instead of our usual shoes you heard flip flops, boots and sneakers on the stone.

My heartbeat quickened as I reached the courtyard. I knew where he would be- where he always would be in the morning. I made my way to the stone bench and noticed him looking out towards the Black Lake.

He turned when I got close enough, smiled brilliantly, and held out his hand. I took it cautiously, but readily. It was one of those moments you felt you could take right out of _Titanic, _where Rose took Jack's hand going up the staircase in her dream. But looking up at Cedric, I remembered this was no dream and no ship wrecking drama. There was him, and there was me. No one would be dying because of something that shouldn't have happened. I looked back toward McGonagall had been talking and squeezed his hand. He smiled down at me and soon enough the gates to Hogsmeade were opened.

**Hey! Sorry for the lateness =/. That's really disappointing. But I'm back.**

**Date next! Review it!**


	7. Changes with the Seasons

**Hey, I'm back! Sorry, guys... Anyway, onto the happy duo.**

As soon as the gates leading to the path were open, a flood of students came pouring out. I felt Cedric squeeze my hand and looked at him. He was sitting on the stone patiently looking handsome in a Polo jacket and long sleeved shirt peeking from underneath and motioned with his head for me to join him. How this boy isn't a model, I will never know.

"Good idea. This will take forever."

"I have them occasionally," he replied with an easy grin.

"And he's modest, too," I mumbled. I felt his chest rumble a couple times as he put his arm around me.

We sat, watching the crowd go by, for about five minutes. Finally, it was just us left. Cedric took my hand again and we began our way down the way, not rushing, just enjoying each other. We kept looking at one another like we wouldn't notice and smiling. We arrived at the beginning of town about ten minutes later.

"Where would you like to go?" Cedric asked instead of being a typical male and dragging me wherever he wanted.

"Honestly, it's up to you, I'm perfectly happy with anywhere-"

"As long as it's with you." He cut me off. I nodded. "My God, woman stop stealing my lines!" He exclaimed dramatically. I rolled my eyes and slapped his chest with the back of my hand as he laughed at my reaction.

"Yeah, yeah, keep it up and I'm dragging you to Puddifoot's, boy!" I warned only half seriously. His laughing immediately ceased, causing me to laugh, this time at his reaction. When we talked about where we had wanted to go the other day and he had brought up how he had absolutely hated the lovey-dovey shop and would be so mad if we were to go there. It was good information for me though, because now I had ammunition against him.

"You had better not." He muttered moodily under his breath. It caused me to laugh again.

"I'm just teasing. Come on, let's go get a butterbeer before all the other kids decide they want to come out of the other shops."

He immediately brightened up again. "Good thinking," he said, getting behind me and placing a kiss on the back of my head.

We walked into the Three Broomsticks and even though it was still early, the little shop was already crowded. Fortunately, we didn't have too hard a time finding a two person table, and a waitress quickly came over. Much to my irritation, she immediately turned to Cedric and began blatantly flirting with him, but he kept his eyes only on me. I gave him a half smile and he draped his arm over the table to rest his hand on mine.

"Two butterbeers, please." was all he offered, and she looked annoyed that her advances were shot down. She returned shortly.

We drank slowly, talking to each other about anything and everything, people watching, watching videos on my phone, and discussing the first challenge. He was nervous, that much I could easily tell, but he had to play the hero and deny it. Stubborn boy. We sat there for hours, but it had only seemed like a few minutes. I told Ced this, and he gave the English equivalent to a yeah; "Hmm."

A little while later, he checked his watch and swore under his breath. "What's wrong?" I asked quickly.

He turned and gave me an apologetic look. "I'm really, really, really, super sorry, Bella. Some of the professors want the champions from all the schools to do a run through of what we need to do. Not like we don't already know." He added with an edge in his voice, but then turned apologetic again. "I have to go back to the school."

"Oh, it's fine, Ced. I would prefer us to leave a bit early anyway so we don't have to deal with the mob walking back." And it was the truth. I hoped, too, that afterward we would be able to spend some time on the grounds.

"Thank you, Bella. It should only take half an hour or so. Would you care to join me beneath the tree when the time is up?" My smile gave him the answer he needed. He beamed, stood up and grabbed my hand and led our way through the busying restaurant.

We made our way down the stone path, and as it faded into dirt, I remembered my mom's request.

"Uhh, hey, Ced?" He turned around. "So, you know my mom has heard about you...and, well... she wants to see what you look like." He smiled, took my phone from my hands and punched in my passcode.

"That's more than alright, Bella," he said as he turned on the camera on the front. He put his arm around me, adjusted how his other arm was raised, and clicked the button. This, unfortunately, led to him deciding he needed a photo shoot, so he just kept taking pictures of us at random.

"Just one more, and this one I definitely want sent to your mum," he murmured, looking at me intently, his one arm still stretched out. I looked at him, confused as to what he could be thinking of, when my heart stopped. Cedric Diggory was kissing me.

That night at dinner, Cedric wasn't at his table.

"Hey, Bella, would you mind letting me look at the weather on your phone? I don't trust the Prophet on anything, anymore." Hermione asked.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," I mumbled, distracted about where he could be as I passed it over the table. I heard the notification that I had gotten a new text, probably from my mom, but that didn't matter. _Where could that boy be? Well, Harry's not back, either, and I don't see that blond French chick or the big burly boy, so they still must be talking about the challenge. _I was so consumed in my thoughts that I didn't register Hermione's eyebrows rising, or Ginny scooting closer to her. I did, however, register Ginny's squealing.

"_Oh. My. God!" _The outburst immediately drew me back to the present, where I gave her one of those confused glares, when I felt someone sit next to me.

"Hey, girlfriend." Cedric's accent was cut across at the end by an even higher pitched squeal.

"That _totally _explains this!" Ginny shoved my phone towards our faces to show a picture of us kissing from earlier in the day.

"_Guys!" _I complained loudly.

Cedric, of course, only gave a good natured chuckle and flashed a crooked grin. "Yes, it would."

Unfortunately for a shy, quiet girl like myself, someone else saw what was going on. The news that smart, handsome, athletic Cedric Diggory was in a relationship with small, awkward Bella Swan spread throughout the school like wildfire, as did the rumors that Ced was under one of Fred and George's love potions, under the Imperius curse, and that he got drunk one night after a Quidditch game and got me pregnant.

Even more unfortunately for a shy, quiet girl like myself was Facebook. I went to a large middle and part time high school while I actually was in the States, and I knew a majority of these people. And with knowing people, even if you've only seen them, comes adding them on Facebook. So I had a rather large friend's list, causing a very large number of people on my "online" list. Cedric decided to be "funny" and change my profile picture to one of us from that day and switch my status to "in a relationship". Needless to say, my chat blew up like Hiroshima. It got so bad that my phone actually froze because everyone chatted me at one time.

Yay. EVERYBODY knows now.

But it was more than okay, because I was with Cedric.

One day became two, two became a week, and soon the first challenge was rearing its ugly head in our faces.

The excitement was tangible in the school's air, but anybody could see the tightness in the champion's eyes, Hermione's, and my own.

There was one more day before the Tri Wizard Tournament officially began. I had seen Harry only sparingly before that day. I was walking towards one of the courtyards to find Ced when I saw the younger boy approach Cedric and his group of friends, all of whom, except Ced, were wearing the stupid "Cedric Rules, Potter Stinks" badges on their cloaks.

I saw Harry lead him away from the group for a moment to talk, what about I don't know, but Cedric gave Harry his I'm-confused-but-I-understand look, which meant nothing good. I walked towards them as Harry was beginning to leave, and caught up to Ced as Harry was walking away.

"Right... Hey listen, about the badges. I've asked them not to wear them."

"Don't worry about it. Hey, Bella." Harry gave me a small half smile before turning and walking away. Ced watched him for a moment before turning to me.

"I really have told them not to." He told me with a genuine face. I put my arm around his back and leaned into him.

"I know. So... how was Miss Skeeter?" He shuddered against me with a grimace and I couldn't help but laugh at his reaction.

"Let's not talk about it, yeah?"

"Hey Ced! Give this to your girlfriend for me!" One of his friends yelled out and tossed one of the badges toward him. Calmly, I picked the badge up from Cedric's hands and walked over to the group.

"Okay, boys. You and I are going to have a little discussion about these."

One of them almost sneered at me before he replaced the expression with a cocky smirk. "If you're going to be with my boy, you've got to wear one." I only smiled, glad that I was more than proficient at nonverbal commands.

"Yes, well, I am with Cedric regardless and I don't see myself wearing one. Now, this-" I said a quick spell in my head to crumple the metal like paper and moved my hand to a fist to make it seem like I had done it myself "-will be your heads next time I see them on any of you. Understood?" Their eyes widened at my fake performance and they all nodded vehemently before handing the badges over or throwing them on the ground. I walked back to Cedric with a satisfied smile. He looked more than impressed.

"Very commanding," he said with a smirk in his voice. "I like it."

I only rolled my eyes and hit him in the chest before grabbing his hand so we could go talk.

"So what did Harry have to say to you?" I asked after we settled down from a laughing fit. Over what, I couldn't tell you. Cedric's eyes tightened.

"He was telling me about tomorrow. What I should be prepared for." He turned to look at me. "You're still coming to the tent before, yes?" I nodded. "Good. I'll need you there."

"Ced, what is it?" He looked down at the ground before raising his eyes in front of him to look out at the Black Lake.

"Our first challenge- it's dragons." I was taken aback at this. They could all get hurt so easily. He read my face easily and continued. "Yes, real, live, dragons. We've got to get an egg from them. It won't be easy, and it certainly won't be safe by any degree."

"Oh, God, Cedric..." He curled his long fingers around my hand.

"I won't pretend not to be afraid. I am. But I need to see you before I go out there. Is that alright?"

"Of course it is. You know I would have come to see you, no matter what." He looked at me with smoldering eyes and kissed me. I kissed him back as gently as he had me. He broke away too quickly for my liking and put his forehead against mine with his eyes still closed.

"Thank you." was all he said before kissing me again, a little harder than the last time. One of his hands came under my hair to rest on the back of my neck while the other landed on my hip. My hands, in turn, grabbed onto his messy hair and his dress shirt. Cedric shifted slightly so that I leaned back and onto the grass. He followed my every move fluidly, never breaking apart.

He was fully on top of me when he moved his lips from mine to my jaw, then down my neck. He lingered around for a moment, almost testing the waters for my reaction. He kissed in one spot for a moment and began alternating between kissing and slowly sucking it. My head instinctively moved upwards and he stopped kissing to suck and nip at the spot. He shifted above me so that his hips were between my legs and moved back up to my mouth. I opened my mouth slightly and he took the invitation to slide his tongue against mine slowly. He shifted his hips again, this time into mine and I could feel why.

"I assume that that is Diggory and Miss Swan who have no space between them." Professor McGonagall's voice cut into our minds. Both of our lips froze, and our eyes snapped open before we bolted upright. This looked no better. My legs were still around Cedric's and our hair was a mess. I moved my legs from him and he grabbed his cloak to put over his lap. Our faces were both stained bright pink.

McGonagall looked at us with a stern expression, one eyebrow raised and her arms crossed. Ced coughed awkwardly and started to tug at his hair.

"Now," she began with a warning tone, "I understand that you two are a couple and you two are teenagers, and this location is a good distance away from where the other students venture, however, it is not far from where the teacher's venture. I will only say this once to the both of you: Use. Discretion."

She left with those words and Cedric deflated. "Oh, bloody hell," he muttered.

"Well... that wasn't awkward," I tried. He looked over at me, giving me one of those _just don't_ looks.

"Right. And I play Beater." He said before leaning over for a quick kiss. "Come on. Let's go back up to the school."

I was sitting in the Common Room that night, on Facetime with my mom.

"Bella, those pictures are absolutely adorable. You snagged a good looking young man! He is sexy!"

"Mom," I blushed.

"Oh, stop being so... you. He is! Did you two spend any time together today?" I blushed thinking about what had happened today. "Oooooh, let me hear it, girl."

"It's nothing. We were making out where we found a spot away from anybody a long time ago and we were kinda getting into it. Then one of our teachers came and saw us..."

To no surprise, she burst out laughing. "I remember when that happened between me and your father!"

"Mom..."

"Anyway, I sent you your package the other day, so you should get it soon. I put some stuff in there that I have a feeling you'll be needing."

"Oh, God, Mom!" It had come in that morning, I just hadn't gotten around to opening it.

"Oh, relax! I just mean clothes and stuff. You know, I think this boyfriend will be good for you, you really need to loosen up."

"I'm fine, Mom."

"I know, my little forty year old." She looked over her shoulder. "Oh, Phil just got here. I love you Bella."

"I love you too. And I promise the next time we do this you can see Ced."

"Good! Alright, bye now, honey." She logged off. I sighed. She will never realize I'm never going to be like she was at my age.

The package was sitting at my feet, so I decided to open now, just to get the embarrassment over. On top was a card, saying how she talked to Jacob the other day, who wants to see me when I get back, and that everyone is proud of me and misses me, blah, blah, blah. Following that were two bottles of my usual wintertime medicine, my mom knowing I get sick during the winter months oh so easily. Under the bottles was a beautiful blue dress, but for what I didn't know, and some warm clothes underneath it. At the very bottom, as I was just forgetting about the possibility of it being there, a four month supply of birth control. _God, Mom._

I closed the cardboard and sat back, but my mind wandered towards tomorrow.

Hermione came over and sat next to me as I was rubbing my eyes. "Tired?" She asked.

I sighed again. "No, I'm just stressed about tomorrow." She nodded.

"Harry told me about the dragons. He'll be okay, Bella."

"I know they will. They're both strong." She noticed my switching to the plural.

"Now, come on, let's get up to bed." We walked up the stone stairs to the dorms, chatting about little things as we did. She looked at me one moment, then her eyes caught something else.

"What?" Her gaze was making me a bit nervous.

"Bella... nice hickey." She teased. I flushed and grabbed my neck. _Damn him!_ She laughed loudly at my reaction.

"Damn it, Cedric Diggory!" I cursed him, causing her to laugh harder. "Ugh!"

"Wait... it was you two McGonagall was talking about about needing to be discreet when couples are alone, isn't it?"

"Oh, my God! It's not like we were having sex! Oh, this just keeps getting worse." I pulled out my phone and texted Ced quickly about what Hermione just had said. He replied; _Hahaha, that's hilarious! I think that's one of my favourite things I've heard this year._

"Why does he not understand that this is not funny?"

Hermione just gave me a look. "Because he's a male."

The next morning came too quickly for my liking. Cedric hadn't come down to sit with me (A new habit; he said he didn't care he was sitting with the wrong House) yet, so after ten minutes I excused myself. I found him in the court yard, pacing and tugging his hair.

"If you keep doing that, you'll go bald by the time you're twenty." I said lightly. He just chuckled, but stopped.

"If I reach twenty after today, that is." He was joking, but I glowered at him.

"Say that again, and I'll shoot you," I grumbled. He laughed at me. Typical. "Now come on, you need to eat." He allowed me to drag him back into the Great Hall, where Dumbledore soon after stood back up and put his wand to his throat, announcing that the champions were needed.

I felt Cedric stiffen up next to me, and I stiffened too. But I still put my hand on his shoulder and told him to do great and I'd see him again soon. He gave me a worried look, kissed me, and got up to walk away.

Not long after, Hermione, Ginny, Ron and I were headed to the transformed Quidditch pitch. The six hoops and the grass were gone, replaced with sharp, dark gray rocks. A single golden egg lie in the center of the arena. Fred and George were walking around, calling out for bets.

"Hey, guys, I'm going to go see Cedric." I told the rest.

"I'll go with you," Hermione offered. I knew she wanted to see Harry.

"Fine by me. You guys go save us seats, okay?" The siblings nodded and we split paths. The champion's tent was not far from where we had split, taking up where the locker rooms had been just hours ago.

Hermione, for some reason, decided to sneak around the back, whereas I walked right into the tent. Cedric flashed a crooked smile, hugged me, and brought me over to the other champions, Fleur and Viktor.

"Guys, this is my girlfriend, Bella," he introduced me proudly. "Watch out for her, though, she's one of those dratted _Americans._"

Viktor let out a belly laugh, which intensified when I began to speak. The four of us talked for a few moments and then we dispersed to talk to other people.

"I'm so happy to see you right now," Cedric wrapped his arms around me tightly and kissed me. At that exact moment, I heard a flashbulb erupt and Rita Skeeter's voice exclaiming "Young love!"

_Great. Now we've got THAT monkey on our backs. _However, Skeeter was turned to a far corner of the tent, where Harry an Hermione stood, obviously just having gotten out of each other's embraces.

"Ohh, how... mmm... stirring. Hmm... if everything goes unfortunately today, you two may even make the front page." The annoying lady continued. Viktor stood up, already looking annoyed with her.

"You have no business here. This tent is for champions and friends." Good for him!

"No matter. We've a... got what we wanted." She flashed another bulb in Viktor's face before sauntering off. Dumbledore came in then and began to speak to the quartet.

"Good day, champions. Gather round, please." The four circled around the aging man. Cedric pulled me flush up against him. "Now, you've waited. You've wondered. And at last, the moment has arrived. The moment only four of you can fully appreciate." He began, but then got confused. "What are you doing here, Miss Granger and Miss Swan?

"Oh, um.. Sorry, we'll just...go." She stumbled. Cedric squeezed me, planted a kiss on my forehead and let me go. Hermione and I walked to the exit, but we waited outside the tent.

"_Welcome, one and all, to the first task in the Tr- Wizard tournament_" Dumbledore's amplified voice cut throw the crowd's noise. "_We have all been waiting for what's in store, and now the day is finally here. Hogwart's own Mister Cedric Diggory-" _The crowd roared._ "-will be the first contestant to attempt to complete the challenge, followed Durmstrang's Viktor Krum, Beauxbaton's Fleur Delacour, and lastly but not leastly, Hogwart's Harry Potter. Now if you please turn your attention to the south, and let the games, begin!_"

"_Diggory! Diggory! Diggory! Diggory! Diggory! Diggory!_"

There was the boom of a cannon and the school's band began to play. Looking from where I had just exited, I saw Cedric walking out with his eyes to the ground in a yellow and black long sleeved shirt. He looked up, swallowed. and proceeded to where the crowd could see him.

Dumbledore approached us then, a look of concern in his eyes. I know you both have people you care about waiting. Miss Swan, you have one who is walking out into the fray as we speak." He was cut off by the sounds of a dragon roaring and the crowd screaming, finally realizing what was taking place. "If you would like, you could come with me to the tent where the champions will be taken after they complete the challenge." I nodded. I don't know about Hermione but I did not want to see Cedric or Harry out there.

"Actually, professor, I would rather do up to the stands, if that's alright."

"Of course, Miss Granger. Miss Swan, come with me, please." We proceeded to the next tent. I sat down on a couch and waited impatiently, cringing every time I heard a collective shout from the crowd when fire was being breathed or the dragon's roar. Moments later, the shouts turned celebratory, and Cedric walked through the tent's opening, golden eg in hand.

"Bella!" He dropped the egg and threw himself onto me.

"Oh, thank God you're okay, Ced!" He pulled away so I could clearly see his face.

"Course I am, just a bit scuffed up." He smiled. He was right, there was dirt all over his face.

"Mister Diggory, if I could borrow you for a moment." A photographer asked. Cedric got up and took his official Tri- Wizard tournament 2007 champion's picture. His hair was messed up, he had dirt on his face, but he looked perfect. I got a copy, and he sent one off to his dad.

Afterwards, we sat down down and talked and listened to the sounds of the battles between the other two. Finally It was Harry's turn. We heard the usual sounds of the of the crowd and the dragon... and then nothing. It was completely silent for a good full three minutes before the crowd started cheering again.

The fall leaves all eventually fell to the ground and the first waves of snow soon began to follow. The crunching of snow could be heard in every corridor, and Hagrid brought the annual twelve footers to adorn the Great Hall with their amazing scent. Christmas was fast approaching, and our annual winter trip to Hogsmeade was here.

I was walking with Harry, Hermione and Ron (all of whom made up after Ron figured out finally that Harry would be "mental" to have signed up for the Tournament) to go find Cedric his Christmas present. The thing is, I had no idea what to get him.

Then it hit me- this book about wizards who had gone on and become attorneys in Britain and American I spied him admiring earlier. "That's going to be me, eventually," as he had said. "I've just no idea how to do it." I went to go buy the book and a Snitch with an Italian flag painted on it caught my eye. I decided to get that for him, too.

I ran into the devil himself as I came out of the store- literally ran into him.

"Bella! Playing Father Nick, I see."

"Father Nick...?"

"Yeah, you know, big belly, large beard, wears red..."

"Ced, honey, that's Santa Claus."

"Father Nick, Bells."

"Nope. Anyway, what does that mean?"

"That you're Christmas shopping."

I decided to be cheeky. "Yep, and not for you!" He laughed, figuring out I was joking and moved his bags to one hand to hold mine as we went back up to the castle.

"So, love, are you going to Arizona for the holiday?" Cedric asked at dinner suddenly. _Wait, love?_

"Uh, no. My dad could care less and is only concerned in getting his friend Harry's fish fry and my mom is going to Florida with my step dad. She said they might move there."

"So you're staying here, then?" I nodded and he smiled. "Brilliant. As am I. We can have our first Christmas together."

"Wait, why are you staying?" He shrugged.

"My dad is going to my grandparent's... and I cannot stand my grandparents." I nodded in sympathy. I've heard about the senior Diggory's. "But think Bells, we'll be alone, and cold..." He nuzzled his nose into the crook of my neck and I pushed him off.

"Yeah, okay, hormones, and if you're insinuating that we 'get warm' like you tried to the other day, we're not." He laughed at the memory beside me. It was our one month anniversary, so Ced and I decided to ditch eighth period... again. We ended up in an empty corridor no one ever came down and... well, we ended up being caught in a very precarious position by McGonagall, for the second time. She gave us a look, shook her head, and said she was happy we at least were using a place that she was the only one to come down.

"Well, love, I wasn't exactly thinking of _that _happening again."

I hit his chest. _The boy's been working out._ He had been acting like such a... seventeen year old lately. Not that I hadn't been, but he went from sweet, innocent Cedric to sweet, teenager Cedric, but it had made me make a decision. And sometimes, NOT when we were getting caught by our teacher slash my Head of House, it was fairly fun.

Cedric called me 'love' fourteen times that day. And I don't think he realized it once. But I did, every single time, and every single time I felt my resolve crumble about whatever we were talking about and I wanted to kiss him and do anything he could ever ask.

Uh oh. That word was getting to me.

But as I watched him next to me in Transfiguration, his long eyelashes moving up and down to follow the feather he had in front of him, his messy hair sticking up in all directions after he had just ran a hand through it, I thought. I thought of him, how the few times we weren't talking I thought of him. I thought about how it felt during that first challenge, waiting to hear of his safety, how it felt when he was knocked sixty feet in the air from his broomstick during a Quidditch match. I thought about his gorgeous green eyes, his long fingers, his rosy pink lips. I thought about how those lips felt on mine, how those fingers felt between mine and on my body. I thought about how I feel about him. I thought about how good of a man he is. I thought about him. I thought about how much I love Cedric.

I leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He smiled. "What was that for?"

"Just because."

The week passed slowly, but quickly at the same time. The magical ceiling sprinkled down snow that disappeared before touching our heads, and the first real downfall of actual snow lay like a blanket on everything outside. The grounds were, without a doubt, beautiful.

Then, on Tuesday, Ron's package arrived.

"Hi, Harry!" The two Indian twins walked bye, I suspect only to say those words. Cedric raised an eyebrow.

"Heh, he, he. Shh!" Cho Chang, a Chinese girl in my friend's year, was doing this- and looking straight at Cedric. Now it was my turn to raise an eyebrow, but he shrugged innocently..

Hermione came running and slammed the morning edition of the Daily Prophet on the table, looking pissed. "Look at this! I can't believe it! She's done it again. 'Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to be developing a taste for famous wizards. Her latest prey, sources report, is none other than the Bulgarian bon-bon Viktor Krum. No word yet on how Harry Potter's taking this latest emotional blow'."

"Parcel for you, Mr. Weasley." A little blond haired third year had dropped the box in front of Ron, but saw Harry and refused to leave.

"Ah, thank you, Nigel."

"Ahem." Hermione noticed the boy, too.

"Not now, Nigel. Later. Go on." Only after this did the boy leave. "I- I told him I'd get him Harry's autograph." Hermione sighed. "Oh look, Mum's sent me something..." His excited expression soon turned dismayed. "Mum sent me a dress?"

Harry laughed loudly and held the ugly puke purple dress up. "Well, it does match your eyes. Is there a bonnet? Ah-hah!"

"Put those down, Harry! Ginny, these must be for you."

"I'm not wearing that- it's ghastly."

"Ron, that color does quite suit your hair well." Cedric said with a smile. He had been interacting with my friends more and more lately and it made me very happy to see.

Hermione started laughing, too.

"What are you on about?" Ron asked defensively.

"They're not for Ginny. They're for you—" She was cut off by Fred and George laughing louder than anyone prior. " -dress robes."

He looked at them with disgust again. "Dress robes? For what?"

Not too long after, the entire Gryffindor house was called down to be crammed into the auditorium hall and Cedric came with, Gryffindor or not.

Professor McGonagall began speaking. "The Yule Ball has been a tradition of the Triwizard Tournament since its inception. On Christmas eve night, we and our guests gather in the Great Hall for a night of well-mannered frivolity. As representatives of the host school, I expect each and every one of you to put your best foot forward, and I mean this literally, because the Yule Ball is first and foremost... a dance." _GREAT. _I HATE dances! And Ced's a champion, so there's no way to get out of it! Oh... that's what the dress was for. The girls (myself excluded) made an excited "ooh" while the boys all grumbled collectively.

"Silence. The house of Godric Gryffindor has commanded the respect of the wizard world for nearly ten centuries. I will not have you, in the course of a single evening, besmirching that

name by behaving like a babbling, bumbling band of baboons."

"Try saying that five times faster," one of the Weasley twins whispered to the other, so of course they both had to try.

"Now, to dance is to let the body breathe. Inside every girl a secret swan slumbers, longing to burst forth and take flight." Cedric nudged me at the 'swan'.

"Something's about to burst out of Hilary's middle, but I don't think it's a swan." Ron muttered to Seamus, who chuckled. McGonagall stopped right before the two.

"Inside every boy, a lordly lion prepared to prance. Mr. Weasley." He looked up, almost afraid.

"Yes?"

"Will you join me, please?" He got up slowly and walked to the middle of the floor.

"Now, place your right hand on my waist." He gave her a dumbfounded look.

"Where?"

"My waist." He slowly put one of his hands on the older woman's waist and a boy wolf whistled.

"Now bend your arm." He followed the directions.

"Mr. Filch, if you please... One, two, three; one, two, three; one, two, three..." She continued counting and leading Ron around the floor, moving and circling one another.

"Oi!" Harry got Fred and George's attention. "Never gonna let him forget this, are you?" They both shook their heads and together said "Never."

"Everybody come together. Boys, on your feet." Slowly, everyone started trickling into the main floor and paired up with a friend. Cedric got down and extended his hand, but I hesitated.

"Come on, love," he said with a smile. Damn him.

"Ced... I hate dancing, and I'm awkward and just... can't."

"It's all in the leading, love." He gave me a small smile, and the two combined made my resolve crumble. I grabbed his hand and followed him down. He looked down at me intently, one hand on my waist, the other holding my in the air before beginning to twirl me around slowly to the music. McGonagall came up to us and he stopped.

"Diggory, why aren't you in your own House?" She sounded almost exasperated. He shrugged. "Well, I'll let you slide. Anyway, seeing as you are a champion, you are required to be present. That means you, too, Swan." She raised an eyebrow at me while I grimaced. "Unless you would like him to be going with another?"

"No!"

"Right, anyway, you both must be present at seven thirty sharp at the top of the staircase leading to the gala hall. The dance will start at eight, and at that time, each champion will be presented and walk with his or her date down the aisle one at a time and proceed with the first dance. Afterwards, you may enjoy yourselves at the dance."

_God damn it. _

The older woman left us and Cedric laughed at whatever face I must have been making and pulled me closer to him.

For the next week, Harry and Ron fretted over getting dates. I was sitting in the Common Room when Harry walked in, looking discouraged.

"What's wrong?" I asked and moved my legs so he could sit.

"I had just asked Cho Chang to the dance." I could tell by his reaction how it went, but asked anyway. "She said she's already going with someone."

"Did she say who?" He shook his head. I brought a hand to his shoulder. "You'll find someone, don't worry." At that moment, Hermione walked in and sat, soon followed by Ginny and a spooked Ron.

"It's alright. It's OK, Ron. It's alright, it doesn't matter." Ginny tried to console him.

"What happened to you?" Harry asked

"He just asked Fleur Delacour out."

"What?" Hermione and I chorused.

"What did she say?"

"No, of course," Hermione answered, though she hadn't seen the incident. Ron shook his head.

"She said yes?" I asked incredulously.

"Don't be silly," Harry was astounded.

"There she was, walking by- you know I like it when they walk- I couldn't help it. It just sort of slipped out." Ron said quickly.

"Actually, he sort of screamed at her. It was a bit frightening..." Ginny explained.

"What did you do then?"

"What else? I ran for it. I'm not cut out for this, Harry. I don't know what got into me!"

The Indian twins walked in and did their walking by "Hi, Harry."

"I've always liked looking at them from behind..." Ron admitted. I nudged Harry and motioned towards the retreating twins. He got the message after a few seconds.

"Hey!"

Christmas Eve came too quickly.

Throughout the girl's dormitory, people were rushing around, showering, doing their hair and makeup, and stuffing themselves into their dresses.

I showered, brushed my hair, then sat on my bed awhile.

"Bella, come _on!_" Hermione pushed me into a chair in front of her mirror, and she and Ginny stood behind me wickedly.

"Guys, no! No Bella Barbie!"

"Tough," Ginny stated. "We've got to get you looking good for your man tonight." I grumbled and demanded one of them get me my phone so I could at least listen to music while I was being tortured. I guess it was really loud, because Ginny asked what song it was before the torture began, but I blanked everyone out.

I woke up with my hair curled down my back, silver eyeshadow that contrasted my light blue dress perfectly, clear strawberry lip gloss and just a bit of blush. I'll admit, I looked pretty good. Everybody looked absolutely gorgeous though, especially Hermione.

"Who are you so prettied up for?" I asked her. She blushed and replied with a simple "you'll see."

The three of us made our way down to the gala hall, where Ginny went inside. Hermione followed me up the stairs, confusing me, but I understood when she smiled shyly and made her way to a rec clad Viktor Krum. I gave her a nod and smile of approval before grabbing the hand of the turned around Cedric, who turned and gave me a breathtaking crooked smile.

"Bella. You look beautiful." He kissed me quickly and licked his lips. "How did you know strawberry is my favorite?"

I laughed. "Not looking too shabby yourself, handsome." I teased. He looked more than handsome in his dress robes, white collared shirt and black slacks. He even had a cute little bow tie on. "Except... your hair is too calm." I mussed it quickly and smiled. "Perfect." He chuckled and kissed me again before offering out his arm.

"Uh, Cedric?" A voice behind us called out. we turn simultaneously to see Cho Chang, looking expectant. "Are you ready for the dance?"

"Yes?" He answered as a question. She moved closer to us, looked me over, and offered her hand out to him. I understood what was going on. _Is she REALLY thinking she's going with him? _Cedric looked confused.

McGonagall came over with a clipboard to get us organized. "Okay, we have... Mister Krum and Miss Granger, Miss Delacour and Mister...?"

"Benoit. Jaques Benoit." Fleur's date informed her with a thick French accent. She nodded.

"Potter and Miss... Where's Potter?" Nobody knew. Out of the eight of us there, Cedric was the only on to decide to look downstairs.

"There he is."

"Alright, well, he can get lined up once we arrive. Can anybody tell me who he is with?" Hermione looked down.

"He's with Parvarti Patil, Professor." She nodded once again.

"And Mister Diggory and Miss Swan." Cedric and I smiled at each other. "Miss Chang... what are you doing here?"

The girl shifted. "I'm going with Cedric to the dance."

Cedric and I both said, "No you're not."

McGonagall looked confused. "I was under the impression that Mister Diggory was escorting Miss Swan to the dance." He nodded.

She shook her head. "He asked me to go."

She shook her head again. "Cho- not to be rude- but firstly I never asked you, secondly, why would I choose to go with you over my girlfriend?" He asked.

"It was when we were walking- you said 'Who are you going with,' I said 'nobody,' you started to say 'you should go with me' but there was that crash-" He cut the girl off.

"Cho, you heard the you should go with and then an e sound. I said 'Harry'." She looked discouraged. "Professor, as expected, Bella is my date." He smiled down at me as Cho walked away.

"One more of the fan club facing disappointment," I muttered under my breath. Cedric and Viktor laughed.

McGonagall scurried off, but returned moments later, sans clipboard, and instructed the guys to go downstairs to wait for us as the remaining students made their way to enter the gala hall. Us girls walked down one by one, then met up with our dates and got in order to enter. The welcome music stopped playing, and the student's din was silenced.

Dumbledore's voice began to speak. "Welcome, one and all, to the Yule Ball. I hope you all have a night filled with laughter, good snacks and drinks, company, cherished memories, and, of course, dancing. Now, if you'll direct your attention to the entrance way, I would like to present to you our champions and their accompaniments as they proceed with the first dance." Fleur and Jaques moved forward a bit.

"Mademoisele Fleur Delacour, and her guest, Monseiur Jaques Benoit." The student body clapped as the duo began to walk down the aisle. "Mister Viktor Krum, and his guest, Miss Hermione Granger." Some people whistled at the two. Uh oh. Our turn. "Mister Cedric Diggory, and his guest, Miss Isabella Swan." We took one step, and people began to call out Ced's last name, or mine. "And Mister Harry Potter, and his guest, Miss Parvarti Patil."

I focused on not falling in front of everyone, but I looked at Ced, who was looking at me and walking so regally, and I was okay. We made our way to form a diamond of all the couples on the dance floor. As we had practiced, Ced put his hand on my waist and held mine, and I gently placed my other on his shoulder. The began and I followed Cedric's leading. He was beaming the entire time, and if I had to, I'll admit it was fun. After a few moment, Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall joined us, followed by other teachers and then the rest of the students. After the first formal dance was completed and they started to play more contemporary music, Cedric took my hand and led me to the outside of the mass of people.

"You did brilliantly, Bella," he said, still beaming. I blushed. "Hey, I want to take this off, do you mind?" I told him I didn't, so he found a coat rack that was slowly becoming full and took off his dress robes and replaced his bow tie with a black regular tie. "I was going to wear it originally, but McGonagall told me to put on the bow," he explained. And after rolling up his dress shirt's sleeves to the elbow, he just looked hot. I told him so, and he replied that he's glad I approved.

He rested his hand on my hip and kept it there the entire night, when we were talking with others, eating, sitting down, whenever. The only time he made me dance was to one song when the Weird Sisters were playing and the dance became informal compared to before. It was like it went from Prom to Homecoming in minutes.

"Bella?" I looked up from Cedric's shoulder. "Here. I want you to have this. It was passed down through generations, back all the way when my mum's family was of very high importance in Rome." He was handing me the ring that always adorned his left finger.

"Cedric... I can't take this. It was from your mother-" he cut me off with a finger to my lips.

"Take it, for me. Please." I saw the look in his eyes and nodded and he slipped the too large ring on my finger and smiled. "Thank you."

They started playing more slow songs as the crowd began to disperse back to bed. "Bella, would you grant me one more dance?" I smiled and nodded. We made our way up to the few couples remaining as they started playing "Magic Works" and enchanted snow began to fall. Cedric placed both hands on my hips this time and I put my arms around his neck. We didn't really dance, just enjoyed each other and listened to the music and rocked to the beat. I placed my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. It suddenly started to beat faster and he gently nudged my head with his chin. I looked up and he had a weird expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked, concerned. A small, content smile graced his lips.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." I could tell he was being honest so I placed my head back over his heart. After a few moments he spoke again. "Bella?"

I looked up at him. "Yes?"

He didn't answer for a few seconds. He just looked into my eyes. "Could I be honest with you?"

Now I was confused. "Of course, you know that." Another gentle smile broke across his almost worried looking face. Then he looked up, and back at me.

"Mistletoe." He murmured. I looked up and saw the vine spreading everywhere. I looked back at him and he kissed me softly and lingered his lips over mine and rested his forehead on my without opening his eyes. "Bella..."

"Cedric."

"Bella... God, Bella. How did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Put me under your spell." I smiled at the magic reference. He opened his eyes. "Bella... Bella, I love you. I love you so much. So much and so fully and so deeply. I love you, Isabella Marie Swan."

Sometime in the midst of his talking, we stopped moving. I looked at his face to see if he was being genuine, though I could tell by his tone already that he was. I kissed him gently, then pulled away and said against his lips, "I love you, too, Cedric Alexander Diggory." I could feel him smile and he kissed me again harder.

The band quit playing and everyone else walked out, but we stayed for the moment. Our kisses became more and more intense and we had no idea where we would end up in the castle. We just kept kissing and wandering around. He was intoxicating me; I had no sense of up or down or time or any direction. Somewhere on the seventh floor, Cedric led me into a room.

The next morning was confusing. I was sore, had a headache, and was just generally confused and wondering if it were all a dream, but when I showered and got dressed, I saw the golden ring that said otherwise. I was extremely snappy at anybody who tried to talk to me on my way down to the Great Hall to grab some oatmeal. I groaned in pain when I sat.

"What's wrong, Bella?" Harry asked.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I'm exhausted."

"Me too."

I noticed Hermione coming to sit with Harry and I, Ron following her, but when she sat down, Ron turned and sat with Seamus. I gave Harry a look which he just shook his head at. Hermione looked like she was trying not to acknowledge the redhead was just a few feet away and started to engage us in conversation that I was way not to when a tired looking Cedric sat down.

"Morning, chaps. Harry, I thought you and the Weasley's were leaving?"

"Yeah, later." I saw a tightening in Hermione's face.

"And you, how are you this morning, Bells?" He asked innocently. I glared at him.

"I'm sore as hell and tired. Any idea why that would be, copper head?" He rolled his eyes but smiled at the nickname he had said he got in childhood.

"That's too bad. I'm exhausted, but I'm in a damned good mood. Any idea why _that _would be, Belly-Boo?" Ugh. That was my childhood nickname and I hated it.

"Oh, I am too, Ceddy Bear. I'm happy as could be." That time I wasn't being being sarcastic, but I saw him grimace at the nickname an ex gave him.

Harry and Hermione had their eyebrows raised at our exchange.

"Oh, good." His smile turned into a smirk. "But, if you decide to not be happy, I can make you happy." I got his insinuation. _Teenager Cedric is back... _

"Oh, God, not again," I told him. I was sore enough already.

He leaned closer to me and didn't quite whisper "That's not what you were saying to me last night." I blushed furiously and looked around to see if the others caught what he had said and meant. Hermione did. _Shit._

"Keep it up and you'll never hear it again!" I warned between my teeth. He chuckled, kissed me then actually did whisper what his response to the first part of my statement was.

I hit him. "Cedric, stop! God, you're such a male." He peaked an eyebrow and smirked. "Stop. _Now. _Cut it out._"_

"Oh, Bells, you've seen the Lion King; 'Can't cut it out, it'll grow right back!'" He quoted Rafiki. It was adorable in his African/English accents but infuriating at the same time.

"I'm going to smack you." He laughed and pulled me closer to him to kiss my head.

"Oh, how I love you." Now that, Harry Hermione and Ginny all heard. I smiled at him and kissed his chest.

"I love you, too."

Ginny started in on us. "So, good night, eh?"

Cedric smirked again, the ass. "Brilliant."

"So... Bella... I didn't hear you come in last night. What time did you lot finally leave?" I blushed madly. Ugh. Ugh, ugh, ugh.

"Really late. I don't know, exactly." Hermione got involved now.

"Ginny's right, I was up for a good portion of the night."

"I uh, I went to the Common Room and fell asleep on the couch."

"Bella... I went to read in the Common Room." I sprang up.

"Alright, Ced, let's go!" I grabbed his hand and pulled him off, listening to them laughing at my reaction Once we were out of sight, he laughed, too.

"Don't laugh! God."

"Sorry, love." He flashed a smile and his dimple and it was okay again. I grabbed his hand and we went back inside a few minutes later to say goodbye to my friends who were all getting ready to leave to the Weasley's.

After they had left, Cedric laced his fingers through mine and brought me to the communal common room, where there was a big Christmas tree with presents under it and always warm hot chocolate. Cedric got us both a cup of the drink and sat down next to me. I got up a minute later and went over to the tree and found my two boxes, one big, one small. He watched me with curious eyes and I placed them on his lap before giving him a kiss. I could taste his hot chocolate.

"Merry Christmas, Cedric," I told him before he could protest about me getting him anything. He unwrapped the book first, his eyes lighting up and a smile cracking his face when he saw it was the one he wanted. I gave him the small box next. It could fit in the palm of his hand. He opened it and took out the Snitch. His eyes widened in happiness as he saw the flag on it and realized he was the true owner of it, the only one to have touched it with his fingers.

"Bella..." He crushed me to him for a moment and then said a quiet thank you. He then went to one of the stockings on the tree and took out a long, narrow black box with a red bow on it and gave it to me. "Happy Christmas, Bella."

It was a simple gold necklace, but I loved it. I thanked him and hugged him, and took the ring he had given me last night, opened the clasp and put the ring on it then put it around my neck. I lie down on top of Cedric and held his hand. We spent our Christmas day there, with only each other. Once the sun had set and snow began falling, Cedric kissed me. I grabbed his hands to hoist him up and kiss him again, but this time I knew exactly where in the castle I was going.

**Whooo they're gettin' serious! I know it went through a lot and kinda quickly, but I wanna get through the background story of them at Hogwarts and move on. Y'all should try and find out what was Twilight and which was from HP (other than the obvious). This took me a few days to do, so I PROMISE I'll be back soon!**

**Review!**


	8. Life Moves On

**Whoo here it is! I went pretty quickly, but it is what it is. Let me know!**

I awoke to Cedric's hair brushing my face, tickling me whenever he breathed. I smiled and put my hand on his head, knowing he wouldn't be waking up any time soon. Just to double check this, I looked at my phone. It was nine twenty and I had a few unread messages, mostly the standard "Merry Christmas" ones. Cedric stirred a bit, and I knew he was close to waking. He had this uncanny ability on the weekends and days off to wake at nine thirty on the dot.

He yawned, then rolled over onto his back and stretched. With one eye open, he gave me a smirk. "Morning, love."

I smacked him. "If you start what you tried last time, consider _this _the last time." He pouted, looking like a little boy and I laughed, causing him to smile and give me a kiss. "Come on, let's get dressed and go get something to eat."

The Great Hall had few students occupying it, maybe ten, us included. Even still there were mountains of food waiting to be eaten. The ceiling was snowing as Cedric and I sat, showing us that actual flurries were falling outside. We chatted about plans for the day, read the paper and ate slowly, savoring the elves' cooking abilities.

Once we had left, Cedric got a wicked gleam in his eye and walked behind me slowly. I didn't catch what he was doing at first, but he started to run after me. The only place to go was outside. I knew he was purposely going slow, but after my footfalls had crunched some of the snow, he grabbed my waist and tackled me. I let out a shout as the white ground came to meet me and cold met my skin.

I got up slowly, jaw dropped,and when I was finally vertical, I felt a splat of more cold hit my chest. I glared at the only person who could have thrown the snowball, who was giving me a victorious 'what are you going to do about it?' look. When the jerk saw my face, he started to laugh loudly.

His laughing was interrupted as a snowball of my own smacked him on the side of his head. I started laughing at his indignant, mouth open face. This, obviously, caused his huge male ego to make an even bigger ball and toss it at me. His laughing brought out a side in me that resulted in an all-out snowball war, Britain VS. America. We both used our magic to make a never ending stockpile as we pelted each other with them. It was ended only when we had ran close enough to each other that our legs got tangled and we were sent, laughing, into our piles.

"Ced, I think we need to go inside before we get hypothermia," I told him through laughs. Both of us were only wearing long sleeved shirts and jeans, no jackets or gloves.

"I know what we can do to warm up," he started. I thought he was going to suggest something completely different than, "We can go up to the Prefect's bathrooms. The bath tubs are as large as a swimming pool. We can go get some trunks and go for a swim?"

I nodded at him. "That sounds good. Meet you up there in twenty?" He nodded, squeezed me, and walked to go get his bathing suit.

I had heard the Prefect's bath tubs had Jacuzzi's in them, and I was more than excited to find that out. Twenty minutes later, I was heading towards the fifth floor and found Cedric. He smiled at me and led me through the doors.

Steamy water was already filling the large bath tub- Ced was right, it was a large as some of the swimming pools in Arizona. I went to put a hand over the water to feel its temperature and turned back to see Cedric taking his shirt off. I blushed. I had seen him shirtless before, but it was a natural reaction of mine. He was a well built young man, no doubt about it. For a Seeker, he had a big build. (Thank you, Ron, for the information.) He was still lean compared to Viktor, but he was gifted with chiseled muscles all down his arms and chest. His veins popped out from his elbows down because of it. He was wearing a pair of swim trunks I recognized Jacob having worn down at La Push beach, on his reservation.

"There's a Hollister in England?" I asked. I genuinely didn't know, which was sad after the years I had spent there. He chuckled and nodded, then grabbed a bag I didn't realize he had been holding. He took out his golden egg he got in the challenge and threw it in the water. "Why...?"

"Well, Bells, Mad-Eye Moody informed me of a trick to get it to not screech," he explained. I cringed, remembering when Harry had opened the egg in the Common Room. It was horrible. Cedric got in, then held out a hand to help me. There was a little shelf to sit on and it got deeper as you went more towards the middle. Cedric put his arm over my shoulders and pulled me close. I looked at his face. There was a fading scar from a Quidditch match that he had gotten long ago. I stroked it with one finger, and with his other arm he grabbed my hand gently. "I love you, Bella." My heart skipped every time he said it, and I leaned into him as I repeated the words and he kissed me.

We sat in the water kissing each other for a few minutes when a high-pitched feminine squeal broke through the water. Cedric and I jumped, literally jumped, away from each other and I grabbed his arm, both of us looking toward where the sound had come from. A translucent younger-looking girl with dark hair and glasses floated above the water, smiling at Cedric.

"Myrtle? Why are you in here, you should be in the girls' bathroom downstairs!" I demanded of her. I had met Moaning Myrtle on accident; in my fifth year and Harry, Hermione and Ron's third, I was meeting up with the trio in Myrtle's usual sewage stomping ground when she flew out of a toilet with the same high pitched shriek and landed in front of me.

"Bella, I can go anywhere in the castle I want, so long as there's a pipe. And who is this that you have with you?" She ended coquettishly with a giggle, swooping in towards Cedric, who scooted back and closer to me with a frightened look.

"This is my _boyfriend_ Cedric, Myrtle," I made sure to have added extra emphasis on the boyfriend. She looked between us and pouted.

"Oh, that's too bad. I'll see you around,... _Cedric._" I did not like the way she was saying his name, but by the time I was about to say something she had done a backflip in the air and disappeared into the water again.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Cedric still looked frightened, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"That was the infamous Moaning Myrtle. When the Chamber of Secrets was opened however long ago, she was the one that got killed. Now she hangs around in the school's sewers and most of the time in the first floor girls' bathroom." He still had a shocked look on his face and I laughed again. "How about we open up that egg?"

He nodded, watching the spot where Myrtle had disappeared cautiously, then dived beneath the water to locate the egg. He broke the surface soon after and grabbed me hand to bring me under. He then twisted the top of the egg to open it. This time, instead of screeching, a melodious voice broke through the water.

"_Come seek us where our voices sound. We cannot sing above the ground. An hour long you'll have to look, to recover what we took."_

We simultaneously came up for air, and Cedric already had a puzzled look on his face. "'We cannot sing above the ground...' Does that mean they're under water? Mermaids! I know for a fact there are mermaids in the Black Lake, I've seen them surface. 'To recover what we took.' But... they haven't taken anything." His head sprang up to look at me. "Not yet, they haven't But they will more towards the time of the challenge, I can guarantee it." Sometimes, he can be so smart. His theory made sense, now it was just a waiting game to find it out.

The next few days had passed quickly, and soon enough the castle was full once again. After a day of relaxation for the travelers, classes began. The month went by quickly, followed by the next. On Valentine's Day, Cedric surprised me with a dinner date on the seventh floor. He had cooked chicken parm, my absolute favorite, and played the partial of a song he had began to compose on the piano our secret room decided it had needed.

March rolled around, the first falling on a Saturday. It was the first spring time Quidditch game, the annual match up between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. It was a hard one to watch, my best friend and my boyfriend competing against each other, but I cheered whenever either of them did anything that was right. (Or I thought was right, anyway.) It naturally earned me some glares from the rest of my House when I cheered for Cedric.

But I _was _wearing all red, even though I had Cedric's half black and half yellow shirt on under my clothes and his number 4 on my face. Gryffindor won, but it was close. The only bad part of the Quidditch game meant the challenge was the next day. And then I did something; I sneezed. _Damn it, time to break out the antibiotics._

In the middle of the celebration in the Common Room that evening, after I had taken all of my pills, McGonagall called out Ron, Hermione and I. We went into a room with Fleur's little sister, then everything went black.

I think I was asleep, but I was vaguely conscious of what was happening, and it felt like it all took all of five minutes. It felt like we had gone underwater, but soon afterward I was being tugged back upward and I heard Dumbledore's voice announcing that Cedric was the first one out of the Black Lake. I was super conscious of Cedric and I shivering together, him on top of me and kissing my face saying not to disappear and scare him like that again. Someone had gotten us a few blankets and we sat up when a figure rose from the lake.

I didn't pay too much attention, but I caught that it was Fleur and that she automatically in last place. Moments later when I wasn't shivering so much, I heard Dumbledore's voice again, this time announcing that Viktor had come up with Hermione.

About ten minutes later, another announcement. "Attention! The winner is... Mr. Diggory! Who showed unique command of the Bubble-Head Charm. However, seeing as Mr. Potter would have finished first had it not been for his determination to rescue not only Mr. Weasley, but the others as well, we've agreed to award him... second place... for outstanding moral fiber."

Cedric wouldn't let me go the rest of the day. He was with me everywhere. The ordeal had scared him, I could tell in his eyes, and after he told me what Dumbledore had said I couldn't blame him, if I were in his position. If the four of us under the lake hadn't been retrieved in time, we would have drowned because the spell we were under would have worn off.

"I love you, Bella. If anything had happened to you, I...I don't know what I would have done." He told me that night. Looking into his eyes, I could see how vulnerable he was. Every word, no matter how few, he had said that day were the absolute truth. So I grabbed his face and I kissed him and told him I was right here with him and I wouldn't ever leave, and I was telling him the truth, too.

He kissed me back hard and desperately, and I new he was getting all of his emotion out with that kiss. We matched each other's pressure and how and when our hands moved across each others bodies. That night wasn't like any night we had had together before. That night had a tangible feeling in the air. I used that to show Cedric how much I love him and how much he means to me without using words.. I could tell he was doing the same to me. In that frame of time, Cedric and I got closer to each other and got stronger. We said things word could never and grew closer. As those moments ended, we stayed together the rest of the night, knowing subconsciously that tomorrow would bring a different time.

I yawned. Professor McGonagall's voice droned in the background. I yawned. Cedric rubbed my back. I yawned again. "Tired, love?" He whispered. I yawned in response. And then I coughed. Cedric's hand flew to my head, the space between his eyes creasing. I started to cough again, but this time I wouldn't stop.

"Miss Swan, do you need to go see Madame Pomfrey?"

"No, no, I'm okay."

The rest of the class I spent alternating between yawning and randomly waking up on Cedric's shoulder while he gave me a massage.

The last few weeks I had been really, really sleepy. Cedric and Hermione attributed it to my studying and being sick, but I didn't quite agree. Something was... off.

It was now mid-March. We had three months of school remaining, and it was being felt. Seventh and sixth years were already studying for their N.E.W.T.s, fifth years for their O.W.L.s, the rest their finals, because it was common knowledge all studying would be forgotten the month of the final challenge and the Quidditch Cup, which fell within two weeks of each other.

None of the champions had any idea what was in store for them, not even with help from teachers or anybody else. Hermione had taken to spending time alternating between school books and library books, looking at the history of the tournament to see if she could find a pattern or any hint of what was to come.

"According to everything I have read, the last challenge will appear to be extremely simple, but it's a mental test as well as physical," she told us all at dinner, which also included Cedric. "It involves not only steering yourself away from any harm, but also to figure out the puzzle as you go."

And so went the next weeks. Study, read, get a headache from everything you were trying to cram into your head, spend time together. Only now the "time together" part was being cut short because Cedric had Quidditch practice five days a week. My mood was quickly turning sourer by the day.

Then one day in the beginning of May, a lot of things began to make sense quickly. Cedric and I were walking towards the Great Hall for breakfast. As we turned the corner to enter, I was struck mid sentence by the smell of the food. The normally great smelling feast smelled horrible to me. I shook my hand out of Cedric's and ran to the nearest girl's bathroom and emptied my stomach of the remains of my dinner from last night. I didn't know what to make of it; my end-of-winter-cold had long since passed, and I never, never threw up, even if I was sick. I rinsed my mouth and pushed open the door to Cedric's concerned face.

"I'm fine, I don't know what that was about," I told him as he bombarded me with questions.

"Maybe you should go take the day off, love," he suggested. "I'll stay with you if you'd like."

"No, no, Ced, you have enough going on without missing a day of stuff." He chuckled and kissed my forehead before slinging his arm around my shoulder and guiding me to my Common Room.

"That wasn't me asking for permission, you're stuck with me." I smiled into his side. That didn't sound so bad to me.

I wasn't sick for the rest of the day, and I had no fever what so ever, so we were both confused about what had caused that to happen. But the day was productive, spent studying and finishing pushed aside homework. After dinner, I kissed Ced and told him I would meet him for breakfast the next day.

That morning as I sat down, I grabbed my usual bagel and oatmeal. But then peanut butter and banana and jelly looked good, so I added that to my bagel. I ate it quickly, everyone around me looking confused by my choice of toppings. But when I went to have my brown sugared oatmeal, the smell hit me and I ran out.

After seeing my banana-jelly-butter-bagel again, I decided to pee while I had the chance. _This has happened twice now, and I still don't have a fever or feel sick. _As I was getting soap on my hands, I stopped. The soap fell between my fingers and dripped into the sink, but I stood in front of the mirror with a dumb look on my face. _I didn't get my period... _It would have come by now. But as my mind raced, I thought back to last month. I didn't get it then, either, but I had connected it back to stress. And as I thought about it more, it was really, really, light in March.

I thought back to the beginning of March, when I had my cold. _Oh, God... _That was when the second challenge had happened. That was when I had had my cold. That was when I was taking birth control (I winced at that thought; my mom would have been so proud if I had admitted it to her.). That was when I had taken those antibiotics to prevent me from getting worse off.

That was when Cedric and I had sex last.

_Oh, shit. _

I ran out the bathroom door, past Cedric and Hermione, and up to the Gryffindor Towers in a daze. Once I was in my dormitory, I fished in my luggage for the box my mom had given me and dove a hand in it to grab the little offending box inside. _Just in case. :) _my mom had written on a Post-It that was still stuck to it.

I almost sprinted to the closest bathroom and flung myself inside. A first year girl had been giving me a funny look, probably because of my entrance, but she caught the look that must have been wearing and hurried to leave. I pushed open the nearest stall and followed the instructions on the little box. Ten nerve wracking minutes later, I had my answer in the answer of two blue lines.

_Pregnant._

The rest of the day I spent in a stupor, pretending, probably unsuccessfully, to look like I was fine for Cedric. Thankfully we didn't have classes together that day. By the time dinner rolled around, I was fully able to put on a brave face and act like everything was normal.

I watched him carefully, looking at his face- his strong jaw line, his full lips, his chiseled features, his straight hair line. His perfect, forest green eyes. _Will our baby have those eyes? _I shivered against him at the wanton thought.

"Cold?" he asked gently. I shook my head and buried myself into him. _How am I going to tell him?_ I kept asking myself over and over. It's not like I would abort, I would never be able to. And I couldn't give it him up for adoption. For some reason, I could feel him being a boy.

I continued the bravado for the next few days, acting seemingly fine. I knew Cedric could tell something was off because I was being quieter than usual, but he was never one to press.

I found him the next day, a Friday, talking to Harry, discussing what he would have to be dealing with all too soon. I smiled at seeing he and my friend talking amicably, but it hit me then that the final challenge was less than a day away. After they were done, Cedric turned from Harry to find me watching him. He smiled at me and I returned it. He grabbed my hand and then hugged me gently.

"I love you," I told him against his neck.

"Quale ti amo, mi amore." He responded in Italian. As we stood there, I could feel that there was something wrong. That something was changing, and soon. I grabbed the side of his face and brought his mouth to mine. I could feel in his jaw and his arms that he sensed it, too.

It was the eve of the final challenge. I love him. I knew then that I would tell him about the baby that was growing between our bodies after the challenge was completed. Is that the change I was feeling was coming? I knew he wouldn't be one of those types that would get mad and leave, but how would he react? So, I would tell him tomorrow. Not now, because I wanted to spend one night with him before the change that was coming would happen.

I awoke to a bump and low swearing, opening my eyes to see Cedric getting dressed quickly and nursing a toe.

"In a hurry?" I asked humorously. He gave me a look.

"It's a quarter to nine." I gave him a "so?" look. "My father will be here in fifteen minutes!"

I understood then. From what I had heard, his dad was a stickler for time. "Want me to come with you?"

He smiled. "I would, actually." I readied myself quickly, brushing my hand on my stomach a few times, just because. We made our way down to the first floor, settling before the big oak doors with a few minutes to spare.

Reporters and their camera persons were wandering all around the hall, stopping momentarily to get a comment or a picture from Ced and I. Just as I was accepting that this is how it would be all day, Cedric beamed and rushed forward to an older man with gray hair and wearing glasses. He walked the man back over to where I was standing.

"Bella, this is my father, Amos. Dad, this is my Bella." He offered his hand, which I quickly took.

"Ah, the infamous Bella. I heard so much about you." Cedric beamed.

"Only good things, I hope," I said, smiling at the older man.

We brought Cedric's father to Great Hall, where even more reporters and cameras were running rampant. I saw Viktor and a man who greatly resembled him getting photographed on one side of the Hall, and Fleur and her family not too far away.

"Will your family be joining us, Bella?" Amos asked.

"Oh, no, sir. My parents are divorced. My dad wasn't able to get time off work- he's the police chief in my birth town- and my mom and step dad are in Florida." Cedric gave his father a look, which I quickly slapped him under the table for.

The day progressed with interviews, pictures, and more pictures and interviews. In the middle of dinner, Professor Dumbledore rose to his podium, and the loud din of cameras and talking ceased immediately.

"Welcome, everyone, to the night we all have waited for. The third challenge is finally upon us, and we shall see once and for all who is the winner of the Tri Wizard Cup!" He paused to allow the inevitable cheering take over the Hall. Once it was over, he began again. "Our four champions will tonight be entering the revised Quidditch pitch to find the cup." His voice turned warning.

"It will be no easy task, mind you. Our champions will need to be able to use their bodies and their minds to finish the job at hand." He turned cheerful once again. "Now, let us eat, let us rejoice, let us be in happy spirits and let the final part of the Tri Wizard Tournament begin!"

The Hall erupted once more. Everyone was cheering, shouting and in high spirits as we finished up dessert and began to head towards the Quidditch pitch. I walked with Cedric and his father, conversing with the two and marveling as we walked into the pitch to see a huge row of bushes taking up the entire, removed back half of the stadium. The plants were so tall it would be difficult to see over them even from the very top of the stands, if not impossible.

Amos went to go talk with some of the professors, and Cedric and I went to the circle of the rest of the champions and their friends. The school band was playing a light, airy tune as the stadium filled. Eventually, everyone was seated, and Dumbledore's voice filled the grounds.

"Silence! As you all can see, we have sprouted a huge maze as the final leg of the tournament. Earlier today, Professor Moody placed the Tri Wizard Cup deep within the maze. Only he knows its exact position. Now, as Mr. Diggory-" He was cut off by the crowd "-and Mr. Potter-" He was cut off again "-are tied for first position, they will be the first to enter the maze, followed by Mr. Krum-" More cheering. "-and Miss Delacour-" He was cut off once more. "The first person to touch the Cup will be the winner!'

The crowd erupted yet again, and I saw Cedric's father make his way over to us.

"I've instructed the staff to patrol the perimeter. If, at any point, should a contestant should wish to withdraw from the task, he or she need only send up red sparks with their wands. Contestants, gather round... quickly!" They did so, Cedric dragging me with him.

"In the maze you'll find no dragons or creatures of the deep. Instead, you'll face something even more challenging. You see, people change in the maze. Oh, find the Cup, if you can, but be very

wary. You could just lose yourselves along the way." Dumbledore warned. I saw Harry gulp across the way and looked up at Cedric. He simply smiled down at me. "Champions! Prepare yourselves."

"Cedric, good luck! Good boy!" Amos patted him on the back. Cedric grinned down at his father, who was a lot shorter than Cedric was. Cedric turned to me next and rabbed me into his arms.

"Ced, once you're out of there, I have something I need to tell you," I was excited, maybe because of the atmosphere, maybe because I subconsciously knew what his reaction would be. He gave me a look. "No, I can't tell you now, you big baby." He pouted.

"Fine, fine, love. I'm as excited to hear it as it seems you are to say it." He kissed me once deeply. "I love you, Bella."

"I love you, too, Cedric. I know you're going to do fantastic. You had better be safe." He chuckled and nodded. I kissed him one more time quickly. "I'll see you on the flip side, my champion." He gave me a cheeky grin and squeezed me tightly.

Dumbledore had approached us all once again. "Mister Potter, Mister Diggory, please come up to the entrance." They did so, and Dumbledore raised his wand to his neck to amplify his voice. "On the count of three... One... Two... Three."

A cannon sounded, Cedric and Harry shot smile over their shoulders, and raced into the hedges.

This was the worst part of this whole tournament- the waiting. It seemed like it had been hours and hours they all had disappeared into the maze, but it had only been about an hour, if that. The band was still playing in the background, and Ron had just gone to get some snacks for all of us. I asked if he could get an extra bag of Every Flavor Beans and a mug of Butterbeer for when Cedric finally came out of the maze.

I checked my phone. It had now been and hour and fifteen minutes of nothing. Really, these competitions were boring, but what made them fun was the feel in the air and everyone's mood. I searched the bushes yet again, thinking that maybe I would get X-Ray vision and be able to see through the thick green. Just as I was turning away, I saw red sparks fly into the sky and I pushed Ron, making his popcorn fall out of his mouth.

"Look!" I pointed to the sparks.

Everyone's attention had turned to that point in the sky. The teachers along the perimeter had all sprang into action, and soon after the forms of Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour came into view. Fleur was checked out by Madame Pomfrey quickly, and the other teachers rushed to Viktor. Nobody had an idea of what was happening, but it could not have been good.

Hermione gasped. "He's under the Imperius Curse. But who...?"

I looked worriedly back to the hedge. Maybe ten minutes after the two had come back out, a blue light shot into the air. Everybody reacted quickly, thinking that maybe this was the end. There was a visible bitter disappointment when nobody else reappeared.

I soon got stir crazy just sitting down. Hermione and I walked around for twenty minutes or so, our legs extremely stiff. We stood on the grass from the field that was still remaining from the planting of the bushes, then made our way back up to our seats.

Another thirty minutes passed. The school was starting to get bored. None of the other challenges had lasted this long, ever. I got up to walk around again, and I was almost to the grass when a blue light lit up the field. Harry had come back, resting on his knees with the Cup next to him. The crowd roared and I walked the length down to grass to congratulate my friend. But I could feel something was off.

As I got closer, I saw what. I screamed and dropped to my knees in the middle of the grass. Harry was crying and yelling out, blood staining his forearm. In front of him, laying on the ground, was Cedric. The crowd still roared. I got to my feet again and ran to Harry. I dropped on my knees again as I saw the broken look on his face and looked down at Cedric. I screamed again, louder this time.

His eyes were closed. He could have been sleeping. But I knew better.

I put my hand over his chest and yelled out, not feeling the strong heartbeat I was so accustomed to.

"Cedric! Cedric, no, don't do this to me, don't do this!" I lie my head on his chest, not hearing his strong, steady thrumming. I broke. "No, no, no, no! No! Cedric come back, please come back! You can't do this, you can't leave me, not now! No-ho-ho…. No…. I never got to tell you… Cedric…" I dropped one hand to my stomach and shut my eyes tightly.

A man's shocked voice called out for Dumbledore. "For god's sake, Dumbledore, what's happened?" I opened my eyes to see the Minister of Magic and Professor Dubmledore standing, just as dumbstruck as all the teachers and staff. The crowd had ceased its yelling. Harry shouted his words out in a desperate attempt to be heard.

"He's back, he's back! Voldemort's back!" He looked at me. "Cedric, he asked me to bring his body back. I couldn't leave him, not there!"

"It's alright, Harry, it's alright. He's home. You both are." How Dumbledore could be so calm I didn't know. I broke down again as Harry's words sank through to my mind. _Voldemort... He's back... He killed Cedric..._

The Minister was talking to a member of the staff hurriedly. "Keep everybody in their seats. A boy has just been killed. The body must be moved, Dumbledore, there are... too many people."

Amos Diggory's voice cut over everybody's. "Let me through. Let me through! Let me through!" Harry started to sob again. "That's my son! That's my boy! My boy!" Amos' voice became hysterical. Mad Eye Moody took Harry somewhere else. I pushed back a strand of hair that covered Cedric's closed eyes. Hands were on my arms. I was being lifted up.

"No, don't take me from him..." I tried weakly. I pushed through the hands. I kneeled back over Cedric. I brought his body up to mine and cried.

"Come on, Bella, you must," Ron's voice told me. Hands were on me again. They were pushing me through the crowd. One foot in front of another. I couldn't see through my tears. When did I get into my bed? I put one hand on my stomach. The other fingered my necklace.

"Cedric."

I awoke the next morning wearing the clothes I had slept in. It confirmed my worst fear. Tears filled my eyes again, and I threw myself onto my bed. Once all my tears were gone, I lay down staring at the wall and not talking. No one bothered me. Hermione brought my a tray of food for breakfast. I took one small bite of my bagel and almost threw up, this time not from morning sickness. A few other girls brought me lunch and dinner, but it remained untouched.

No one bothered me. They shot me piteous looks and brought me food that just sat by my bed. No one bothered me.

It had been two days that I had just sad in bed and not moved. A very, very, very small fluttering in my lower stomach caused me to move my head for the first time since then. My brow furrowed. I shouldn't be able to feel... I immediately whipped out my hone and went on Google. It would have been the start of my eleventh week. Some mothers had said they felt their baby move as early as their ninth, so it could have been...

That minute fluttering gave me some resolve. My not eating I knew was not healthy at all for my baby. So I gathered up my strength, sat up, and wolfed down the tray of food that had just been delivered. I started to feel slightly human again. I decided a shower might help.

Feeling that little flutter made my resolve come back. I couldn't give in; I had to survive and flourish for my baby. I could do it. Even if it meant going through the motions.

"Bella?" Ginny's voice rang out timidly. I called her to come in. "Hey. Hermione sent me up... Your mum's here."

That surprised me. I let Ginny guide me to the first floor, where my mom was waiting for me with her arms open. I went over to her and folded right away.

"I know, Bells, I know," she patted me on the head, but not condescendingly so. After a few minutes I looked up. "Oh, sweetie, I can't even imagine what you're going through right now." She told me gently and wiped my tears away with her thumbs.

"It's not just that he's..." I couldn't force the word from my throat. _Dead._

She shhed me from trying to say it. I shook my my head. "Mom, I-I'm... I never got to tell him..." Tears pooled again in my eyes.

"Bella.. are... are you pregnant?" She whispered the word. I teared up again and nodded. She hugged me to her. "It's okay, sweetie, it's okay. Everything will be okay."

We stood there for a few moments. The dinner bell rang, and everyone started to pour into the Hall, along with their parents.. Dumbledore had apparently called the rest of term off while I was being catatonic, and he stood up to give his end of year speech.

"Today we acknowledge a really terrible loss. Cedric Diggory was, as you all know, exceptionally hard working, infinitely fair minded, and, most importantly, a fierce, fierce friend." He scanned the Hall, and his eyes seemed to land on me, Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Ginny.

"Now, I think, therefore, you have the right to know exactly how he died. You see, Cedric Diggory was murdered... by Lord Voldemort. The Ministry of Magic does not wish me to tell you this. But, not to do so, I think, would be an insult to his memory. Now, the pain we all feel at this dreadful

loss reminds me, and reminds us, that while we may come from different places and speak in different tongues, our hearts beat as one. In light of recent events, the bonds of friendship we've made this year will be more important than ever. Remember that, and Cedric Diggory will not

have died in vain. You remember that, and we'll celebrate a boy who was kind, and honest, and brave, and true, right to the very end."

A picture of Cedric was unfurled from behind Dumbledore's podium. I placed my head on my mom's shoulder and let a few more tears escape.

The next morning, Beauxbaton's flying horses took off into the air yet again, and Durmstrang's boats disappeared into the murky water of the Black Lake.

I packed up all of my belongings, picking up Cedric's champion picture. I studied it for a few moments before placing it gently on top of the pile of my clothes and books. My wand was sitting on my bedside table. I inspected it, remembering the wand maker Ollivander's words from six years ago; _"Maple wood, eight and three quarters inches, unicorn hair core..." _

Whether I would ever use it again, I didn't know. I knew I wouldn't be stepping back into Hogwarts again, probably not even England, and I didn't know if it would ever be necessary back in the States. I stowed it gently next to Ced's picture and closed the top of my trunk before putting on the long Hufflepuff cloak I never returned and walking out of the Gryffindor Common Room for the final time.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny were waiting for me where my mother stood. We all hugged and said our final goodbyes, promising to write whenever we got the chance. I turned towards Mom and hoisted my trunk onto a luggage cart, and walked out of Hogwarts for the final time.

In the months that followed, I had stayed with my mom until Alex was born. I decided then to go stay with my dad, finish off my high school career in Forks. And it was a good opportunity to get away from the pregnancy rumors and to have Alex meet his grandpa.

I never tried keeping Alex a secret. Because of that I had few friends, Angela and Jacob. I was fairly friendly with some of the boys on Jacob's reservation named Quil and Embry. They were good guys, and I liked them a lot, but Angela and Jacob were the two main people in my life.

Neither were disgusted or weirded out that I was a single mother. Jacob and I even had a short lived fling, but I broke it off very quickly. I was just not ready. Jacob said he understood, but I think he was always upset we didn't stay together.

As graduation came and went, I left Jacob to finish his senior year in the rez's school and left with Alex and Angela to New York City to go to NYU. Thanks to the credits I had received taking all AP classes, I started as a Sophomore.

I awoke to the sound of a fussy baby boy and Angela trying to get him to quiet a bit.

"Shh, let your Mommy sleep, Alex."

I wiped my face and cast a glance at our picture. I smiled a bit, then walked into the kitchen, where Alex was mashing peas with his hands and making airplane sounds.

"Bbbbrrrrrr... Momma!" He looked happy, then fearful. He probably thought I would put him in time out for playing with his food again. It was the same look Cedric had given me whenever he got me mad.

I couldn't help but laugh at his cute little face, and I went over and lifted him from his high chair. I swung him around in the air above my head a couple of times to hear him laugh, then placed him on my hip and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He placed his hands on my face just the way his father used to. I gave him what he wanted and made a fish face before putting him on the ground to run and crawl off to play with his construction toys.

"I'm sorry about the mess and about Alex making all that noise-" Angela looked genuinely apologetic.

"Oh, Ang, stop." I cleaned up Alex's peas that were on the floor. "What do you have going on tomorrow morning?"

"Uh, nothing that I know of. What about you?"

"Intro to Torts." She gave me a sympathetic look, herself having taken the class as part of the law academy in high school. "Yeah, yeah, I know."

Angela would be looking after Alex for the three hours I would be in class. I got all my books ready and was prepared for class. When the time came I was one of the first in the class, arranging my books and notebooks and everything else I had. I checked my phone and texted Ang about lunch plans, seeing the picture of Cedric and I that I still kept as my background, even on my new phone.

The class had few empty seats left as the professor, a middle aged man that had an air of ignorance came out of his chambers. He started talking about why Torts was an important subject and why it was the basis of the legal field, even though I was sure it was not that significant. I took out a notebook and started writing random words and drawing random things.

I was the only one with a seat left next to them and I knew it would be soon occupied when in the middle of the professor's welcome lecture the classroom door opened. I didn't bother looking up when I heard a smooth, very familiar voice say with a bit of an English accent say, "Sorry I'm late." It was _too_ familiar. It almost sounded just like Cedric's.

"Mister Cullen, I presume?" I still didn't look up, but I imagine the man nodded as he set his books down and pulled out the chair next to me. "Very well. Don't let it happen again, got it?"

I didn't look up as he sighed, I didn't look up as he stretched an arm over our conjoined table. I did look at his arm, though. It was pale and adorned with a wristband with a family crest on it.

I didn't look up when he grunted. I did look up, however, when the professor told us that we had our first group assignment, partnered with the person sitting next to us. What I saw made me gasp and made me send my notebook flying off the side of the table, along wit my pens and some of my books.

The young man sitting next to me looked just like my son. Messy bronze hair. Almond shaped eyes. Long eyelashes. Full, pink lips. Straight nose. Chiseled features. Dimples.

I must be imagining things.

Or maybe I'm seeing a ghost.

I let out a whisper.

"_Cedric."_


End file.
